North Carolina, whose heartbreaking loss in the N.C.A.A. tournament championship game a year ago provided one of the game’s indelible moments — the buzzer-beating shot by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins — avenged that defeat with a win over Gonzaga, 71-65, on Monday to claim its sixth national title.
The No. 1-seeded Tar Heels returned many of the players who left the court in Houston devastated a year ago. But at University of Phoenix Stadium, they could finally bask in the confetti that rained down from the rafters.
They beat Gonzaga, another No. 1 seed, which was making its first appearance in the Final Four.