There were still several minutes left in the second half of the final game of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, otherwise known as March Madness, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Villanova Wildcats, two of the best teams that college basketball has to offer. As they came back from a 10 point deficit to tie the game, the Tar Heels looked like they had the momentum they needed to finish the game and win another national championship.

Marcus Paige of the Tar Heels shot a clutch three pointer, leaving just 4.7 seconds for Villanova to attempt a game-winning shot. Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono of Villanova rushed the ball up the court before dishing it off to junior forward Kris Jenkins, who stepped into a deep three pointer and knocked it down, handing Villanova its second national championship in their school history. The two teams combined to shoot 55-of-111. Villanova went 28-of-45 from the field and 8-of-14 from three, while the Wildcats committed just 11 turnovers in 65 possessions. North Carolina was nearly as good for nearly as long, flashing the interior depth and perimeter balance that had made them one of the nation’s best offenses.

        Marcus Paige said he was “99 percent sure” that if the game had gone into overtime the Tar Heels would have beaten the Wildcats—their comeback from down 10 points to his double clutch 3-pointer to tie the game had momentum on the Tar Heels’ side. “We were 4.7 seconds away from winning the game because I told the team […] all we had to do was get to overtime, and the game would be ours,” Paige said. “And I truly believe that. I think our whole team believes that.” To be ahead in a game with only seconds to spare and to see all of your hard work snatched away from you is very hard to endure.

“So he got it off and all you can do is pray when the ball is in the air,” Paige said. “I felt like it was in the air forever. The fireworks go off right there, and that moment you’ve been fighting for, clawing for, hoping every day for, dreaming about, just goes away that fast. It’s hard to describe.” Paige scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the final 8:51, including eight points in the final 93 seconds. His 3-pointer that tied the game 74-74 could have been his shining moment if the Tar Heels had forced overtime and won.

        The Wildcats did not win because they have flashy professional picks or one superstar. It takes a collective effort to win a national championship. Four players scored in double figures in this title game, and three more found ways to contribute into the box score. Being a four-year team captain made Arcidiacono the perfect player to have the ball at the perfect moment. “He’s a senior with the game on the line. That’s supposed to be his shot,” Jenkins said. “But he passed it to me.” This just goes to show you what type of team Villanova is: they work the ball around, looking for the right shot, and in the end, their unselfishness paid off.

        All the winning mentality and drive that Villanova brought to every game allowed them to celebrate their first NCAA Basketball Title in 31 years. Throughout the season, there wasn’t one dominant team. Six teams, including North Carolina and Villanova, had been ranked No. 1 at different times this season. And while this implied that the NCAA tournament was up for grabs, Villanova and North Carolina were the best teams to make it to the finals, and the game was arguably one of the best in NCAA history.