Brynn Anderson/Associated PressThe Kansas Jayhawks and North Carolina Tar Heels secured their spots in the NCAA men's basketball tournament national championship on Saturday night.
The Jayhawks defeated the Wildcats without star guard Justin Moore. The Jayhawks played their best basketball of the season in the second half of their win over the Miami Hurricanes.
The career of Duke Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski was ended by the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels used the first win over Duke to catapult themselves into the Big Dance, where they have played with a lot of confidence.
Kansas will be the favorite in the title game in New Orleans because of its recent play and rest gained from an easier game, but UNC should give the Jayhawks a strong test.
There is a national championship game.
Monday, April 4 is the date.
The start time is 9:30 p.m. It's called ET.
TV:
This is a preview.
Over the last 60 minutes of basketball, Kansas looked the part of the final No. 1 seed.
In the first and second halves against Miami, the Jayhawks' defense was very good.
The offensive side of Kansas improved greatly for the clash with the other team. The Jayhawks shot 13 for 24 from three-point range.
The Big 12 squad gained an early advantage thanks to David McCormack, who had 25 points and nine rebound.
After exploiting the size differential between himself and the players, McCormack comes into Monday with a lot of confidence.
The Kansas big man will face a much tougher challenge on Monday than he did against Duke.
Bacot injured his ankle at the end of the game. His status will be closely monitored over the next 48 hours.
Even if Bacot is at 85 or 90 percent, it may open up an advantage for the other players in the paint.
If Bacot is not moving at 100 percent, Kansas could look to take advantage of him being one step slower.
Brady Manek started his college career at Oklahoma.
Manek has been a top scorer for North Carolina. What worked and what didn't against Manek could be seen from previous meetings with Oklahoma.
Manek has the most experience playing against Kansas on the UNC roster and his familiarity with the style of play could help the Tar Heels game plan on short notice.
The team with the best shot makers might be the winner.
Ochai Agbaji proved that he is the best player in Kansas, as he scored 21 points with six three-pointers. He had his highest point total since the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Love has been great for UNC. He had 30 points in the Sweet 16 victory over the UCLA Bruins.
If Love goes early, the Heels could match the Jayhawks punch for punch in the backcourt.
The national championship could be decided by a battle of top shot makers if Love and Agbaji play like they did on Saturday.
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