Kansas defeats UNC to win fourth National Championship

NEW ORLEANS, LA – The first-seeded Kansas Jayhawks defeated the eighth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 to win their first national championship since 2008.

Senior forward David McCormack scored 15 points and snagged 10 rebounds to guide the Jayhawks to their second national championship under Bill Self.

In the Final Four, the Jayhawks came into this matchup off a dominant victory over second-seeded Villanova, a game in which McCormack scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds. UNC defeated long-time rival Duke 81-77 behind a 28 point performance from Sophomore guard Caleb Love.

The Jayhawks overcame a 16 point deficit in the second half en route to the largest comeback in the national championship game in NCAA history.

Kansas started the game on a 9-3 run as Senior Ochai Agbaji nailed a three-pointer 13 seconds after the tip. On the ensuing possessions, McCormack nailed two hook shots out of the post to give Kansas further momentum. UNC immediately responded with a 9-2 run of their own to give them a 12-11 lead with 13 minutes remaining.

Both teams traded buckets for the next seven minutes of play as the score was tied up at 22 with 6:08 remaining. For the remainder of the half, UNC would go on an 18-3 run as All-ACC First Team big man Armando Bacot began working down low and converting fouls at the free-throw line.

Senior forward Brady Manek also helped extend the Tar Heel lead with two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions as UNC went into halftime with a 40-25 lead. Manek finished this matchup with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

The Jayhawks came out of the halftime break with a new sense of urgency as they went on a 16-5 run in the first six minutes after intermission. The key to Kansas’ surging comeback was the play of their x-factor pieces.

Sophomore forward Jalen Wilson got going for the Jayhawks as he scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half of action. Guard Christian Braun, who hit some key threes down the stretch for Kansas on Saturday, also scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Kansas scored 47 points in the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels by 18.

Both teams began to trade buckets for the rest of the half as Sophomore forward Puff Johnson provided a much-needed scoring punch for the Tar Heels. Johnson scored nine points down the stretch for UNC as the energy of the game intensified.

Free throws from Manek notched the game up at 65 with three minutes remaining as the game stood still – up for grabs. On the upcoming possession, Senior guard Remy Martin nailed a huge triple, giving Kansas the lead with two minutes to go.

The Arizona State transfer was coming off of a poor game against Villanova where he scored just three points. Martin instrumental for the Jayhawks down the stretch as he shot 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from downtown in the second half.

A layup from Caleb Love and a tip-in from Manek gave UNC a one-point lead with 1:40 left to go in regulation. On the immediate next possession, McCormack went back to work down low and nailed a post hook with 1:21 to play.

On the ensuing possession, Love came down and missed a layup, giving Kansas the ball back with 50 seconds remaining. With UNC’s Bacot hobbling on one leg after an ankle injury forced him out of the game, McCormack once again went back to work down low to put in another clutch hook shot, this time to put Kansas ahead three.

On the next possession, Caleb Love pulled a deep three to tie the game and missed. RJ Davis grabbed a rebound and found Johnson for a contested three and he also missed as the Jayhawks got the rebound and called timeout. Love struggled all night, having his worst game of the tournament in which he shot 5-for-24, a lot of which came from missed layups at the rim.

After a Kansas turnover out of the inbound, UNC got the ball with an opportunity to tie the game up and send it to overtime in the waning seconds. The Tar Heels inbounded to Love he missed yet another three as time expired, securing the victory for the Jayhawks.

“I can’t remember a time in my life when I should be disappointed but I feel so much pride,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis told reporters after the game. “The way they have represented the university, this program, the community, I couldn’t ask for them to do any more than they have done.”