The North Carolina student section is filled with Arizona State students. GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels huddle in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

You need all the help you can get when playing for a national title, right? That’s apparently what North Carolina thought, too.

The Tar Heels did not sell out their student section for Monday’s championship game against Gonzaga in Glendale, so they got some help from volunteer Arizona State students.

And they would’ve gotten away with it, too! If not for an Arizona State infomercial that aired during a timeout.

From For The Win:

Still, there were times when the ASU fandom could’t stay disguised. During a TV timeout, an ASU infomercial aired on the stadium’s videoboard. The ASU students, accounting for more than 70 percent of the section, held up the Sun Devils’ “Fork ‘Em” hand signal and cheered.

70 percent! I guess too many students went last year and didn’t want to re-experience the potential heartbreak.

But these Arizona State students were smart enough to take advantage of a really cool (and free) opportunity.

“ASU got us tickets for free because UNC didn’t sell out their student section,” Cory Nelson said. “So, they gave it to student organizations. I’ve got a buddy who works for athletics, and he sent me the link.”

Nelson is a senior at ASU, and he made the 26-mile trip from Tempe to Glendale with four of his friends. He said that they were given little instructions besides wear white.

“It can’t be any other school, and it can’t be ASU. So, just plain white,” Nelson said.

They’re getting to see a good one, as North Carolina holds a one possession lead on Gonzaga early in the second half.

[For The Win]

About Jesse Kramer

Jesse is a writer and editor for The Comeback. He has also worked for SI.com and runs The Catch and Shoot, a college basketball website based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer.