HOUSTON — It wasn’t supposed to end like this. There was confetti falling on smiling, misty-eyed players. A coach cutting down a net with his scissors waving high in the air, motioning toward the roaring fans. A trophy presentation for a team that had just won a national title.
But the North Carolina men’s basketball team was tucked away in a locker room where the sounds of elation from Villanova's 77-74 victory were inaudible.
There were so many moments in the game where it felt like the Tar Heels would pull away and win. The dream of bringing a national championship back to Chapel Hill.