New Orleans hosted their sixth Final Four this postseason, last time that the big easy held the event was exactly a decade ago. For the first time in three years, it was able to operate at full-capacity, without the influence of COVID-19 hanging over it, potentially shutting it down at any moment.
The streets of the historic city were filled as well throughout the weekend, with college basketball fans either celebrating or mourning their team’s tournament runs. The event itself was electric as well, with the stadium holding over 70,000 fans at Duke and North Carolina’s matchup on Saturday (~96% full).
The game itself? Disappointing at first, but incredible down the stretch.
North Carolina may have hit their target with the sling shot early on, finishing the first half off on an 18-3 run to go up by 15, but their opponent did not go down, storming back to tie the game with just under eleven minutes still remaining in the game.
It seemed like the game was becoming a repeat of Kansas’s matchup against Miami in the Elite 8, where the Jayhawks came out on fire and took complete control of the game. But the Tar Heels were not ready to break just yet.
They would respond to Kansas obtaining a six-point lead by going on a 7-1 run to tie the game at 57, then hang around as the Jayhawks continued to score at will. Back-and-forth the game would go, with the pace of the game quickening with every passing minute.
It was genuinely impossible to predict who was going to take it at one point, with each team answering anytime their opponent garnered a slither of momentum.
It would come down to a final possession, with North Carolina having possession down three with just four seconds in the game. They would give it to their most reliable scorer of the tournament in Caleb Love, who found a solid look from three at the top of the arch.
He would take the shot and…
Air ball. The buzzer would sound, and Goliath would take the championship by a score of 72-69. Still, what an amazing Cinderella run by the Tar Heels, and what a well-deserved title for the Kansas Jayhawks, their first since 2008.
