UNC History: Luke Maye's .3 Shot and Justin Jackson's Trash Talk
I won't make you guys rewatch any highlights of Luke Maye's shot against Kentucky (even though it is kind of awesome). If you didn't know, today is the anniversary of the famed #32 shot that got the Heels into the Final Four. But there's something that went under the radar during that game that most people didn't pick up, the fire under Justin Jackson.
The entire team was a return from the previous year of heartbreak. During the last seconds of the 2016 NCAA Championship game, Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit the winning three-point shot, giving Nova the title and leaving the Carolina bench in disbelief. If you didn't know, Kris Jenkins is also the brother of Nate Brit. But we're talking about the game after that, right? Right. No need to rehash any unwanted feelings.
The entire game, Justin Jackson, can be seen talking trash to Malik Monk; something we've never seen him do before. Jackson is a relatively quiet player; he drops his 18, heads to the locker room, and ready for interviews, but it was something about that night that had him talking. He wasn't going back to Chapel Hill without a fight.
With 54 seconds left, Carolina went on a 12-0 run, giving them a 71-64 lead but Kentucky wasn't going away quietly. De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk dropped two killer three-pointers brining them within one.
Carolina heart's sank! Score: 71-70, Carolina.
With an assist from Luke Maye, Jackson was able to finish a lay-up, giving the Heels a three-point lead with 34 seconds left.
3 from Kentucky's Monk... tied game, 73-73.
And in true Roy Williams fashion... No timeout. Players play through adversity.
3.1 seconds...
Theo Pinson drives to the middle, looks left and sees Maye wide open, passes him the ball...
Bucket at .3 seconds.
Inbound and foul. That's game. Carolina wins, 75-73.
Arguably, one of the best games in UNC Basketball history.
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