The end of March Madness is coming. There is one game left after the Final Four. The Tar Heels are playing the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks, a No. 1 seed, crushed the Wildcats behind a career night from David McCormack. It was the continuation of an impressive run by Kansas. The Final Four games were won by 15 or more points. The 1981 Indiana Hoosiers were the last team to win by such large margins in the rounds.
Bill Self won the national title in 2008. In the NCAA tournament, Self has never lost to North Carolina.
The Tar Heels have become one of the most talked about teams in the tournament. They are the fourth No. 8 seed to reach the national title game. The 1985 team is the only 8-seed to win it all. The Blue Duke were knocked out of the NCAA tournament on Saturday after losing to rival UNC in coach Mike Krzyzewski's home finale.
In his first year as UNC's coach, Hubert Davis is the sixth coach to reach a title game in his first season. Steve Fisher is the only coach to win it all in his first year.
The Tar Heels entered March Madness with 100-1 odds of winning the title and are four-point favorites over the Jayhawks, but they might have their own history on their side. In New Orleans, UNC is 2-0 in national championship games, defeating Georgetown in 1982 and Michigan in 1993.
He may not be on the sideline for this game, but we should mention Roy Williams. The national title game features two head coaches who succeeded the same one. Davis succeeded Williams in 2021.
The national championship game has some of the best plays and moments.
The Jayhawks scored the first seven points of the national title game. If this was supposed to be a celebration for the Jayhawks, someone forgot to tell the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels scored 16 unanswered points in the last six minutes of the first half to take a 40-25 lead.
The senior proved to be a good indicator of his team after a lot of speculation over the condition of his ankle. After a few minutes, Bacot was posting up and crashing the offensive glass with his usual effectiveness. He had a double-double in his 19 minutes.
The difference between the two teams was second-chance points and getting to the line. The Heels converted eight offensive boards into 18 second-chance points. North Carolina was shooting 13 of 16 from the free throw line.
The Jayhawks looked completely out of sorts late in the first half, despite starting the game with another Ochai Agbaji 3. David played just 10 minutes after picking up two fouls. Bill Self's team was at a disadvantage on the glass on both ends of the floor without him.
Is the Jayhawks able to recover? It will likely take more time from the two men. After opening the game with a three point shot, Agbaji only scored five points over the rest of the half. Christian Braun is 1-of-7 from the floor, and his teammate, Remy Martin, looked tentative at best.
The Tar Heels are exactly where they said they would find themselves, even though few expected them to be. All tournament long, the team of Hubert Davis has been more effective than their opponents.
North Carolina is just 20 minutes away from a national title.
The first half ended with 16 unanswered points for the Tar Heels. Yes. As hot as the Jayhawks came out the gate, North Carolina responded with equal fervor. This is basically how it ends.
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Tar Heels up six!@UNC_Basketball #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/6oUS4eVDuY
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