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Hours after hitting game-winning shot, UNC's Luke Maye receives standing ovation at 8 a.m. class

Sometimes when you watch a big game like Sunday’s Elite Eight thriller between North Carolina and Kentucky, you forget that these guys really are students.

UNC’s Luke Maye hit the game-winning shot in the final second to send his team to the Final Four. And just after 8 a.m. the next morning back in Chapel Hill — a little more than 12 hours after hitting the shot of his life at FedEx Forum in Memphis — Maye strolled into his business class. Naturally, he received a standing ovation from his fellow students.

That’s pretty cool. I don’t think anybody would have given Maye any grief for sleeping in a little bit on a Monday morning, especially after what was probably a fairly late night of traveling back to campus.

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Maye, a sophomore who began his career as a walk-on, emerged as a valuable bench option for the Heels this season and has been playing at a high level throughout the tournament. He notched a career-high 16 points to go with 12 rebounds in UNC’s Sweet 16 win over Butler. It took just two days to set a new career-high, as his 18-foot game-winner gave him 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting against the Wildcats.

His clutch shot even attracted the attention of another famous No. 32 — Duke legend and fellow Kentucky killer Christian Laettner, who famously drilled a game-winner as time expired 25 years ago Tuesday.

Now the names Maye and Laettner are tied at the hip in college basketball history.

More NCAA tournament coverage on Yahoo Sports:
Christian Laettner welcomes Luke Maye to the Kentucky killer brotherhood
De’Aaron Fox’s devastated reaction to UK’s loss shows other side of March Madness
Four early storylines for the Final Four: The West returns and defense triumphs
Hours after hitting game-winner, UNC’s Luke Maye gets standing ovation in class
Only 39 Yahoo Tourney Pick’em players had all four Final Four teams

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!