When the 2017 NCAA Tournament field was announced, many anticipated that the South Region would present the best games in the tournament. The top four seeds included the North Carolina Tar Heels, Kentucky Wildcats, UCLA Bruins and Butler Bulldogs. All four programs survived going into the Sweet 16 and as the second weekend ended, there could only be one team that went on to the Final Four. UNC defeated Butler, Kentucky beat UCLA and it was a 2017 Elite 8 matchup between the top two seeds in the South Region.
The UNC Tar Heels and Kentucky Wildcats matched up in a contest between two of the NCAA’s all-time best basketball programs and the game didn’t disappoint. UNC had a lead for a majority of the game but Kentucky roared back in the final minutes of the contest. Then in the last 15 seconds, Justin Jackson went to the free throw line and quite possibly the best sequence of the 2017 NCAA Tournament ensued.
Off the missed free throw, Kentucky pushed the ball down court and found freshman star Malik Monk, who hit a sensational shot to tie the game. Then UNC went back down court and found Luke Maye who hit a great shot of his own to give UNC the lead for good.
Luke Maye, a former preferred walk-on Sophomore from Huntersville, North Carolina, came up huge for the Tar Heels. But this wasn’t his first appearance for UNC during the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Maye had only averaged 14 minutes per game and 5.5 points per game during the season but in four tournament games he’s averaged 18.5 minutes with 12.5 points per game. In the game against Kentucky Luke Maye scored a career-high 17 points and helped UNC get into their second straight Final Four.
