GLENDALE, Ariz. — In Monday night’s sluggish slog of a national title game — it was trench warfare, with whistles instead of land mines — North Carolina faced the frustrating situation of clearly outplaying its opponent, Gonzaga, without the scoreboard reflecting that fact.
The Tar Heels (33-7) relinquished a lead less than five minutes into the first half and did not get it back until the second had begun. They promptly lost the lead again, going more than four minutes without scoring. A team that entered the game making more than 36 percent of its 3-pointers sank them at less than half that rate.