ST. LOUIS – Every fairy tale needs an improbable ending.

The fairy tale was written in Tar Heel blue. Not what Illinois fans want to hear.

If it is any consolation for Illinois – maybe not today, but in a few years – the Illini showed they could win a national title.

Monday just wasn’t the day.

It was Roy Williams’ day. His team won a 75-70 classic.

Illinois fans will ponder for eternity what would have happened if Illinois shot better than 27 percent in the first half.

Stop it. Right now.

The Illini had three shots on one possession at the end of the game to win the game. All three looked good. All three missed. Illinois was one bounce away from winning the national title. Mistakes and all.

Illinois never would have made the second half run without the dismal first half. It needed to miss shots against Carolina’s zone and see North Carolina’s juniors, forward Rashad McCants and center Sean May, score at will in order to play like the Illinois team the nation saw all year.

No team ever needed a halftime more than Illinois did. The fire returned to the Illini’s eyes when they took the court for the second half. The Smilin’ Illini returned – for one final showing.

Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams took over another game. The guards hit threes, stole the ball and turned a rout into a game ESPN will replay again and again.

The signs were pointing toward an Illinois victory. The momentum found a seat next to Weber and his orange blazer. The crowd almost blew the Jones’ Dome roof off. A 13-point Tar Heel lead evaporated. Refuse to lose was seizing the day.

“We got to the four-minute timeout, and we thought we had it,” Weber said. “We had people in that situation lots of times.”

The scoreboard just didn’t cooperate. Illinois could never take the lead from North Carolina. If the Illini got the lead, I’m not sure how the Tar Heels would have handled it.

But the Tar Heels will never need to find out.

They had an answer for every thing the Illini did. That answer was May. College basketball is too easy for him.

May’s tournament run and 26-point (on 10-of-11 shooting), 10-rebound performance in the championship game will go down as one of the most clutch performances in NCAA history. It will be etched in people’s minds like Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot to give then-North Carolina coach Dean Smith its first national title in 1982.

Illinois season needs to be thought of the same way. Only one team can win the title. There were two deserving teams in St. Louis. Someone had to lose.

The game was Ali-Frazier, Celtics-Lakers, Red Sox-Yankees. Yes, it was that good.

“It was a tremendous game, (No.) 1 and (No.) 2,” Weber said. “Went down to the last couple of possessions.”

Give Carolina credit for the final possessions. Illinois came back. Carolina found a way to win. Williams has lost many important tournament games. He was labeled a choker in March.

No longer.

Williams overcame his own demons to win the championship. For him, it was a fitting ending.

No need for Illinois to spend too much time mourning the loss. There is plenty to be thankful for.

Remember Illinois’ second half Monday – it was mesmerizing.

Remember the Wake Forest game. The Big Ten title. The Final Four appearance. The Arizona win. Luther Head’s rise to All-American status.

“We are a team that fought our heart out every game,” Head said.

Remember that. Head said he will. And he of all people should scrutinize over the game-winning shot he missed.

So let me follow Head’s wishes. I say thank you to the Illinois basketball team. It was a great season that tied the NCAA record for wins.

I mean, Carolina didn’t do that.