Kansas beat North Carolina 72-69 in the NCAA men’s basketball title game in New Orleans on Monday, the program’s 4th national championship and the second for longtime coach Bill Self.
But this was far from a surefire win for the No. 1 seed against the No. 8 seed. Kansas jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to start the game, but North Carolina soon settled in, going on a 16-0 run late in the half.
Kansas trailed UNC by as many as 16 points in the first half and was down 15 at halftime. According to the NCAA, the 16-point comeback is the largest in title game history. Additionally, per the NCAA, the previous record for largest halftime deficit overcome in a men’s title game was 10, by Kentucky against Utah in 1998.
The Jayhawks came out firing after the half, eventually erasing the Tar Heels’ lead with less than 11 minutes to play. A back-and-forth battle ensued with the game tied 65-65 with 3 minutes remaining.
Kansas soon had a 3 point lead late and turned over the ball with less than 5 seconds remaining when Dajuan Harris Jr. stepped out of bounds, giving the ball back to UNC. But a final heave by Caleb Love was off the mark.
This was the 10th appearance in the title game for Kansas, and the third under head coach Bill Self. This is his second title, the other coming in 2008.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas players celebrate after winning the national championship game against North Carolina on Monday, April 4.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas head coach Bill Self cuts down the net after the game. This is Self’s second national title as head coach of the Jayhawks.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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The Jayhawks lift the trophy during the postgame celebrations.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Self and Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji hug after the game. Agbaji was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas players rush the court after the final buzzer.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina’s Puff Johnson walks off the court after the game.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina’s Armando Bacot turns his injured right ankle during a key play late in the game. Bacot initially hurt the ankle in the semifinal game against Duke.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Agbaji rises for a shot over Bacot.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Johnson reacts after a play.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas’ David McCormack hangs from the basket after a dunk to start the second half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Manek tries to take a charge while Wilson drives to the basket. Manek, however, was called for a block.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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The game was played at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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McCormack battles North Carolina guard RJ Davis for a rebound during the second half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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The Kansas bench reacts during the team’s second-half comeback.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas guard Remy Martin rises for a shot over Bacot. Martin’s energy and 3-point shooting played a big part in the Jayhawks’ comeback. He finished with 14 points.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Kansas’ Jalen Wilson shoots over North Carolina’s Brady Manek in the second half. North Carolina led 40-25 at halftime, but Kansas made up the deficit quickly in the second half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Johnson shoots a 3-pointer.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Manek celebrates after scoring in the first half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Manek blocks a shot by Kansas guard Christian Braun during the first half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Braun watches one of his shots go through the basket in the first half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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A wide view of the action on Monday night.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Davis drives to the hoop in the first half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Bacot tries to shoot over Braun and McCormack in the first half. He finished the half with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina’s Leaky Black blocks a Braun shot.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Davis, center, is defended by Braun and Mitch Lightfoot in the first half.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina’s Caleb Love is swarmed by Lightfoot and Braun.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Agbaji hits a 3-pointer early in the game.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Players watch the ball for a possible rebound.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis reacts to a play. This was Davis’ first season as head coach of the Tar Heels.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Wilson drives to the basket.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Four North Carolina starters — from left, Black, Davis, Love and Manek — wait to be introduced to the crowd.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Pregame festivities are held before the game.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Former North Carolina and Kansas head coach Roy Williams attends the game. Williams retired as the Tar Heels’ head coach after last season. He coached Kansas from 1988-2003.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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Agbaji leads his team onto the court before the start of the game.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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The two teams’ mascots play around before the game.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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From left, TV announcers Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Jim Nantz stand on the sidelines.
Photos: Huge comeback lifts Kansas to NCAA title
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North Carolina fans cheer before the game.
The two illustrious programs took very different paths this season to arrive at the championship game.
The 8th-seed UNC was the clear underdog despite the acclaimed team’s history of success, which includes six national titles. The Tar Heels are led by coach Hubert Davis, who is in his first year in the role at UNC. He took over from Roy Williams, who retired after helming UNC for 18 seasons and Kansas for 15 years before that.
UNC was a team on the bubble just over a month ago, but a late-season run of wins clinched a spot in the tournament. Then came the madness of March, as UNC upset No. 1 seed Baylor in overtime and ended the unlikely Cinderella run of 15-seed St. Peter’s in the Elite Eight.
Kansas, a No. 1 seed, had a less eventful journey to the title game. The Jayhawks survived close matchups with Creighton and Providence in the earlier rounds, and pulled away late in a romp over 10th-seed Miami to reach the Final Four.
On Saturday, Kansas led wire-to-wire over No. 2 seed Villanova in a comfortable 81-65 win, buoyed by the three-point shooting of senior guard Ochai Agbaji and junior guard Christian Braun. Senior forward David McCormack chipped in 25 points on just 12 shots and sophomore forward Jalen Wilson added another 11 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
The Jayhawks lost in the title game in 2012 and were one of the favorites in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to Covid-19. UNC has won six national titles in its history, including in 2005, 2009 and 2017.
Both UNC and Kansas relied on the steady hands of upperclassmen in a sport often defined by star one-and-done freshmen on their way to the NBA.
The Tar Heels featured the scoring and rebounding prowess of junior forward Armando Bacot, the big man who leads the team with 16 points per game. He pulled down 21 rebounds against Duke on Saturday and 22 against St. Peter’s,as UNC racked up a number of second-chance opportunities. However, Bacot hurt his ankle against Duke and could be limited in the title game.
UNC’s lineup also include three other players who average at least 13 points a game in senior forward Brady Manek and sophomore guards RJ Davis and Caleb Love. Love has been the star of the tournament for UNC and notched a team-best 28 points in the win over Duke, including an off-the-dribble 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that sealed the win.
Kansas, meanwhile, relied on the stellar shooting of Agbaji, who shot 41% from 3-point range this season and led the team in scoring with about 19 points per game. The Jayhawks use an inside-out game as they spread an array of shooters around McCormack’s 6-foot-10 presence in the paint.
They also rely for stretches on forward Mitch Lightfoot, a 6th-year senior and role player who, along with 5th-year senior Chris Teahan, are the only remaining players from Kansas’ 2018 Final Four team. Their presence is only possible because the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all winter sport athletes due to the pandemic.
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