It’s the beginning of a new week, but this isn’t your typical Monday.

1) UNC takes on Gonzaga tonight for the college basketball crown.

If you’re a Carolina fan, you don’t need to be reminded about what happened last year. If you’re not—or if you don’t care about college basketball—here’s a quick recap.

UNC was trailing Villanova in the 2016 NCAA tournament championship game until senior guard Marcus Paige hit one of the most clutch shots in the history of Carolina basketball (that’s saying a lot). Here’s a photo:
And yes. It looked just that awkward on live television. No way that shot was going in. But it did. And it would have gone down in history … if Villanova didn’t answer moments later with perhaps the greatest buzzer-beater in the history of the Dance (sorry, Laettner).
That shot went in. The Tar Heels’ championship dreams were dashed. It was painful for players, coaches, and fans alike. Here’s video of the whole thing. You really have to watch it to fully appreciate how surreal it was.


Anyway, the Heels lost, that sucked, and no one expected Roy’s boys to get back to the title game this year for a chance at redemption. Basically everyone, on the other hand, thought Villanova was a solid pick to defend its title. And yet, Nova lost, and here we are.

The Heels are set to play in the final college basketball game of the season against a team that has never taken the floor in a title game. ESPN wrote a solid primer. Click here to read it.

2) Neil Gorsuch gets support of another Democrat, but the Dems’ filibuster is still secure.

A third Democratic senator said he would vote to put Judge Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. From The New York Times:

The senator, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, is among a group of 10 Democratic senators who represent states that voted for Mr. Trump and who are up for re-election in 2018. So far, two others—Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota—have announced their support for Judge Gorsuch.

But:

That leaves Republicans, who hold 52 seats in the Senate, five Democratic votes short of breaking any filibuster mounted by Democrats. If the Republicans do not have enough votes to break a filibuster, they could invoke the so-called nuclear option, allowing them to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees and hold a floor vote. Judge Gorsuch could then be confirmed by a simple majority.

3) Two Raleigh high school students face sexual assault charges.

From WRAL:

Raleigh police have arrested and charged two students in connection to a sexual assault that allegedly occurred at Athens Drive High School Friday afternoon.

Taquan Shmar Jeffries, 16, is charged with second-degree forcible rape, and Ajeema Caribe Bullock, Jr., 18, is charged with aiding and abetting the assault.

Athens Drive High School principal Stephen Mares left a voicemail message for parents Sunday afternoon stating, “I’m sickened by this, and I want to assure you that all of us at Athens care deeply about the safety and well-being of all of our students.”

That should do it for today. Go Heels.