Kansas win the NCAA tournament
#1 seed Kansas Jayhawks defeated the #8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69. Kansas hasn't won their title since 2008. Now, Kansas is the national champion in 2022.
This was a fought battle from beginning to end. At the beginning of the game it was Kansas in an early lead. Then North Carolina started to pick up the pace towards the end of the first half building a 16 point lead. The first half ended with 40-25 UNC. UNC ended the first half on the path to win the championship with Hubert Davis first year coaching.
In the second half, Kansas started to have a comeback. They cut the lead down to 1 with Christian Braun layup with 12:41. The second half was led by Remy Martin and Christian Braun. Martin hit two big threes in the second half and his defense was a major factor in the second half. Kansas defense held guard Rj Davis and Caleb Love shooting 10/41 from the field.
Kansas outscored UNC 47-29 in the second half.
UNC fought through the second time although they blew a 16 point lead. Center Armando Bacot played with a right ankle injury and played 38 minutes with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Five players with double figures including Puff Johnson. Johnson is the brother of Phoenix Suns player Cam Johnson. Johnson had 11 points 6 rebounds and played good defense on Kansas Star Ochai Agbaji. Brady Manek scored 13 points and 13 rebounds. Davis scored 15 points and 12 rebounds. Caleb Love scored 13 points and 3 rebounds. Love struggles throughout the second half of the game. This was a heartbreaking loss for UNC. They played a great March Madness beating teams like Marquette, Baylor, UCLA, St Peterβs and Duke.
The game overall was a good game to watch. Both coaches and players played with everything they have. Herbert Davis in his first season had a historic season and Bill Self won his second national championship.
Whatβs next? Kansas trying to repeat and UNC looking for redemption.