WATCH: Kansas completes historic comeback to win title in wild finish
Kansas defeated North Carolina 72-69 to win the 2022 NCAA Championship Monday night in New Orleans to claim their Xth title in program history. Despite the Jayhawks turning the ball over up three points with 4.3 seconds remaining, Carolina’s Caleb Love miss a game-tying 3-pointer that helped complete the largest comeback in national championship history.
North Carolina broke a late first half tie and caught Kansas sleeping on a 16-0 run that catapulted the Tar Heels to a 40-25 halftime lead. Armando Bacot, on an injured leg, notched his 31st double-double (tied David Robinson‘s single season record) with just over a minute remaining in the half, scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds on 3-7 shooting. Bacot would leave the game in the final minute after rolling his ankle and wouldn’t return to the floor.
“We’re trying to play the way we play, but I thought we did a pretty good job of it attacking him when he’s defending on the perimeter. Jalen missed a layup right down there. And David [McCormack] had a couple of good post moves early but even had not 100 percent, he’s still pretty good,” Self said in the mid-first half interview.
The Jayhawks stormed back in emphatic fashion in the second half, stretching the Tar Heels to a 25-10 scoring start and tying the game at 50 thanks to an hard drive into the paint plus the foul for Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji. Kansas didn’t let up, scoring the game’s next six points, setting the pace for an exciting finish.
Kansas outscored UNC 22-19 down the final stretch to claim victory and reiterate their blue-blooded tradition with another national championship. McCormack scored 15 points points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Wilson played his role perfectly with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Self will now walk away with his second national championship as head coach of the Jayhawks and the program’s fourth in history. Their four titles tie Connecticut for fifth-most all-time.
The Jayhawks’ faithful had waited 14 long seasons for Self to lead Kansas to glory. He won his first title in 2008 and first championship appearance since 2012 when they lost to an Anthony Davis-led Kentucky team in 2012, which also took place in New Orleans.