North Carolina vs. Gonzaga, 2017 NCAA basketball championship final score: UNC prevails, 71-65

College basketball’s season didn’t end with a classic, but one way or the other, the North Carolina Tar Heels are your national champions. With both UNC and Gonzaga shooting firmly around the low 30s percentage-wise in the second half, college hoops’ final two played a tense back-and-forth game. Despite tight officiating and even tighter players, Joel Berry II and Co. ultimately made up for last year’s heartbreak with a national title in the 71-65 win.

Roy Williams wins his third national title as the former Cinderella Zags are forced to settle for a 38-2 record. Their last loss had come at the end of the regular season to BYU. Despite Gonzaga having a case as arguably the best team in the country for the entirety of the season, Kennedy Meeks and the UNC Tar Heels were better when it mattered most.

After knock down, drag out brawl, North Carolina caps a remarkable season of redemption with a national championship. It may have been a national title game at times that could only be loved by a mother, but UNC fans will gladly take a title anyway they can get it.

It was the sixth national title in UNC history, which breaks a tie with its biggest rival, Duke.

Congrats to the 2016-17 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels.