Mark WiedmerNorth Carolina's men's basketball team launched a private Twitter account during the offseason. The Tar Heels labeled it "Redemption."
It was to be the theme of this season, a season meant to erase the disappointment of last year's NCAA title-game loss to Villanova on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. And they certainly redeemed themselves with Sunday's 75-73 comeback win over Kentucky, a victory won when reserve Luke Maye swished a long two-pointer with 0.3 seconds on the clock to ruin a stunning Wildcats comeback in the final 58 seconds.
"I just shot it like I do every day in practice," said Maye, the son of former Tar Heels quarterback Mark Maye.
Added Kentucky forward Derek Willis of Maye's make: "Best shooter on the floor, and he hits the shot."
And it's hard to argue against the concept of karma, payback, revenge, redemption - or all four - siding with North Carolina, given not only last year's loss to Villanova but also the fact that Kentucky had won a similarly tight contest against the Heels in December, 103-100.
But that same theme of redemption could quite similarly apply to all of this year's Final Four teams, from West winner Gonzaga to Midwest winner Oregon to East winner South Carolina, which, exactly like the Zags, had never previously reached college hoops' final weekend.
Let's start with Oregon, a team that won the first NCAA tournament in 1939 and hasn't returned since. Much as North Carolina was stung the entire offseason by last year's final loss, the Ducks were wounded by last spring's regional final defeat to Oklahoma after a Sweet 16 win over Duke.
"We felt so good after beating Duke, and we patted ourselves on the backs so much that we didn't have that edge when we played Oklahoma," Oregon coach Dana Altman said after Saturday night's 74-60 win over Kansas, which also happened to be coach Bill Self's worst tourney loss as coach of the Jayhawks.
"I came in after the Michigan game (in Thursday night's Sweet 16) and we weren't celebrating. So I thought maybe the experience of a year ago maybe helped us."
Gonzaga has been hoping its experience as the little Jesuit school that never quite gets it done would somehow help it this season. The Zags were in the top 15 in the KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency analytics all season, actually standing first in defense, and lost but once all season and never on the road.
Though coach Mark Few's squad, now 36-1, has won 23 of those games by at least 20 points - including Saturday's 83-59 West Region clincher over Xavier - he admits that sometimes you need more than skill to advance.
"(Sometimes) it's luck and breaks and matchups," he said after the Zags' Final Four spot was secure. "The cool thing about these guys, though, sometimes we've made it our night when it wasn't. Like the other night, we were not playing good against West Virginia."
Indeed, that 61-58 triumph wasn't secure until the very finish, much as North Carolina's wasn't clinched until less than a second remained.
Then there's South Carolina, which held off fellow Southeastern Conference member Florida to guarantee at least one spot in the Final Four for the SEC after three league schools reached the Elite Eight.
Recounting the Gamecocks' 40-33 halftime deficit against the Gators, South Carolina star Sindarius Thornwell said: "We knew when we went in at halftime we've been in that situation before. We were down seven at halftime to Duke."
That 88-81 win over Duke will probably remain the biggest upset of this tournament, just as Michigan's 92-91 win over Oklahoma State may go down as the best-played game and the Tar Heels' victory over Kentucky the most dramatic.
And all anyone needed to see to understand how much this tournament can mean to fans was to glance into the eyes of South Carolina super fan and recording star Darius Rucker, who had tears in his eyes as the final seconds ticked off Sunday's win.
Or as Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said of his players, his interior apparently far softer than his gruff exterior: "They put up with me and go out and do it better the next day. I've got unbelievable people in my life. I'm the luckiest human being in the world."
With the No. 1-seeded Heels and Zags joining the third-seeded Ducks and seventh-seeded Gamecocks in Glendale, Ariz., the fans are the lucky ones. Just don't be surprised if those two top seeds play for the title next Monday night in the desert, the Zags with too much offense for the Gamecocks and the Tar Heels with too much size for the Ducks.
As for what happens in the final, we'll revisit a moment from North Carolina coach Roy Williams' postgame news conference Sunday, still drenched with water after a celebration in the locker room.
Right now I'm soaking wet," he said, "but it's the best dadgum bath I've ever had with my clothes on."
At least until the Heels similarly soak him a week from tonight following the school's sixth overall NCAA title and Roy Boy's third crown, their season-long search for redemption completed.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.