Marcus Paige: Final shot will ‘probably haunt me for the rest of my life’

Following North Carolina’s 77–74 loss to Villanova in the national championship game, Tar Heels senior Marcus Paige told reporters that Kris Jenkins’s game-winning three will stick with him for a very long time.

Following North Carolina’s 77–74 loss to Villanova in the national championship game, Tar Heels senior Marcus Paige told reporters that Kris Jenkins’s game-winning three will stick with him for a very long time.

“It’s something that will probably haunt me for the rest of my life,” Paige said. “I’m going to see it. And it’s going to hurt every time.

“I was about 99% sure we were going to win that game. We just had to get through the last 4.7 seconds.”

Paige watched as Jenkins drilled a buzzer-beating three as time expired, just moments after he hit a circus shot of his own to tie the game at 74–74.

Paige finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He will likely enter the upcoming NBA draft.

– Kenny Ducey