Arizona was clearly at ease.
The Wildcats beat North Carolina for the second time that season, ending Dean Smith’s career with a 66-58 Arizona win. Simon had 24 points, Bibby had 20, and the Wildcats shut down everyone not named Jamison and Vince Carter.
With the wind in their sails, Arizona came back two days later and edged defending-champion Kentucky in overtime 84-79 behind Simon’s 30 points. The clutch guard, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, went 14 for 17 from the free-throw line, icing the win.
A win that would make them immortal.
Davison: “After every game, we got on the bus, saying who do we have next? Even after the national championship game it was like, who’s next? We were always ready for it. We looked around like, wait, we’re the No. 1 team? Us? A bunch of knuckleheads, jokesters? Everyone overlooked us. It was a mathematical anomaly, I guess you could say. The legends of ’97. We did the unexpected, but we took advantage of our position.”
Harris: “I believe Coach Olson, (and assistants Jessie) Evans, “Roz” and (Phil) Johnson met up at the right time. They had all that success before us. And I believe they learned a great deal about parents, children, how things work. All that experience of having that success and not winning I think maybe allowed us to win.”
Davison: “People say how’d you win, and I say, how can you put the six luckiest games together? How does the ball bounce? Who snaps into the right place at the right time? It’s the little nuances. Our defense won us the championship, I can say that.”
