The 1977 NCAA Championship was Al McGuire's last chance to put it all together. There was no question that McGuire was a winner; he had won 20 or more games over the previous 11 seasons at Marquette. But this game against coaching legend Dean Smith and his Tar-Heels would be the final test. Marquette sent their coach to a fitting retirement beating North Carolina 67-59 to win the national championship. With Marquette orchestrating the offense and dictating tempo, the Warriors took a 39-27 halftime lead. Carolina made its run at the start of the second half, tying for the first time in the half at 41-41 on forward Walter Davis' 14-foot jump shot. After North Carolina took the lead for a brief moment, Marquette went to a delay offense and nailed their last 12 free throw attempts to put the game out of reach.