For a year now — almost exactly to the day — all these North Carolina players wanted was a chance to redeem themselves, an opportunity to erase the heartbreak from last April’s national championship game loss. For each team, it is about this one opportunity to win it all, to be the group bathing in the streamers and confetti that will be released from the University of Phoenix Stadium at the final buzzer, and not the one assaulted by this deluge. The Tar Heels became just the fourth team to come back from losing the national championship the year before to go on and win it the following year. North Carolina gave coach Roy Williams his third national championship after titles in 2005 and 2009 and a loss at the buzzer in last year’s championship game against Villanova.
North Carolina defeats Gonzaga, 71-65, for the 2017 men's basketball national title.