Cats Lose Heartbreaker to Tar Heels in Elite Eight
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – They wouldn’t quit.
Not when foul trouble sent their star freshmen to the bench in the first half. Not when shots wouldn’t fall. Not when North Carolina took control in the second half. Not even when the veteran Tar Heels put together a seemingly backbreaking run in the final minutes.
This group that has truly become a team over the last two months played that way to the very end. It just wasn’t enough.
“There was a lot of stuff that went on, and our kids fought through it,” John Calipari said.
The fight lasted until the clock hit zero on the matchup pitting No. 2 UK (32-6) against top-seeded North Carolina (31-7). There were highs, lows and everything in between, the last two being shots that will appear on NCAA Tournament highlight reels for years to come. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was the Tar Heels that dealt the last blow: a jumper by Luke Maye that went through the basket with 0.3 seconds left and ended UK’s season in heartbreaking fashion, 75-73.
“It was a great run,” Malik Monk said. “We had a great run. Everybody’s crying and it doesn’t feel good, but we had a great run and I love everybody on this team. I’m just thankful to be here.”
Monk very nearly kept the run going for another weekend. The freshman guard who struggled all game in Memphis, Tennessee, finally had one of his patented explosions in the final minute. He buried a pair of 3-pointers, the second coming from the top of the key and tying the game with nine seconds left.
“I make shots,” said Monk, who scored 12 points. “I make shots … but it wasn’t enough.”
It wasn’t enough because of North Carolina’s incredible answer.
Driving the length of the floor after in-bounding the ball before Coach Cal could call timeout and capitalizing on the scramble situation for UK’s defense, Theo Pinson kicked to Maye. UNC’s breakout star of the South Regional calmly swished the shot from just inside the arc on the left wing.
“I don’t even think we were thinking,” Monk said. “That’s why he got the shot off.”
The game was all but over at that point, but it became official after Derek Willis’ long inbounds pass sailed beyond Bam Adebayo’s reach and UNC killed the final three-tenths of a second without incident.
While the Tar Heels donned Final Four t-shirts and cut down the nets in FedExForum, the Wildcats made the long walk to their locker room facing the halting realization that their March Madness run had ended along with their 14-game winning streak. The result was an outpouring that revealed exactly how much these Cats care.
The most poignant moment came just as media crowded around De’Aaron Fox and Adebayo to get their rawest reflections on the game. Tears flowing continuously, Fox answered thoughtfully while Adebayo lowered his head.
“It was tough,” Fox said. “We had a helluva season. We went through that stretch where we lost those games and everybody talked about how it looked like we didn’t care. This isn’t a locker room that looks like guys don’t care. I love my brothers, man.”
At that point, overcome by emotion, Fox paused to put his arm around Adebayo so the two could cry together.
“The shot just played back and forth in my head,” Fox continued. “It’s going to be difficult to get over, but I know I got to.”
Making it even more difficult was the fact that it was all so abrupt. Until it actually happened, there was never a thought in the Cats’ heads that they would lose.
“It always sucks losing,” Derek Willis said. “I’m pretty down about that. I just wanted to win a championship. I don’t know. UNC got it from us.”
UNC had a five-point lead at halftime, but UK always figured it would rally with Fox and Monk limited to 21 minutes and 11 points combined. Dominique Hawkins steadied the ship in his final game as a Wildcat, scoring all 10 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
“I thought that we were (in good shape),” Hawkins said. “Definitely without those two scoring, I felt like we could have been down more. We were only down five. We usually come back in the second half off of deficits like that.”
That’s exactly what UK did.
The Tar Heels had the lead at six with 10:39 to go, but the Cats rallied behind a player who has seen little more than spot duty most of the season. Isaac Humphries at one point scored eight of 10 UK points, the last two coming on a midrange jumper that gave UK a 64-59 lead and briefly sent the thousands of UK fans in the building into hysterics.
“We were all really obviously excited to play this game, so I was in the mindset of coming out and doing whatever I could to help my team,” Humphries said. “And I was given a great opportunity, and I just wanted to take advantage of it.”
Humphries did exactly that in scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds, but not even the big Australian could stem the tide in the face of UNC’s last run. The veteran Tar Heels went on a 12-0 run to build a seven-point lead with less than a minute to go.
With Isaiah Briscoe, UK’s unquestioned leader, assuring his teammates “we’re fine” in the midst of what most thought was an insurmountable deficit, Fox and Monk hit three 3-pointers in the final 49 seconds – two of which were assisted by Briscoe – to briefly tie the game and showcase the never-say-die attitude the Cats have taken on as a team.
“We all wanted to go to Phoenix,” Fox said. “We all had mutual goals. We wanted to win a championship. Everyone said it couldn’t be done. Everyone didn’t think we would get this far, but we proved a lot of people wrong. We left stuff on the table, but like I said, man, North Carolina is great.”
UK is too. Even in defeat, the Cats proved that on Sunday.
