The Jayhawks win the NCAA men's national championship in 2022, overcoming a 16-point deficit to beat the Tar Heels. (0:38)
College basketball has a new national champion. The Kansas Jayhawks won their fourth national title and second under head coach Bill Self, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 in New Orleans on Monday night. The Jayhawks made history by coming back from the largest halftime deficit ever for a national champion, and then storming out of the locker room with an 18-6 run that eliminated any notion of a Tar Heels runaway. The largest halftime deficit for a champ was 11 by the 2001 Duke Blue Devil.
The team of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi took a final look at this historic national championship game, including what went right for Kansas. The meaning of the Kansas triumph, of the past five months of college basketball, and of the personnel the Jayhawks and the Tar Heels have coming back in 2022-23 were reflected on by the ESPN quartet.
The national title game between North Carolina and Kansas was one of the most exciting in years. The Jayhawks were down 15 points at halftime, but had a 63-61 edge with five minutes to play. North Carolina's offensive firepower and defensive pressure created a cushion going into the break, but Kansas' offensive efficiency helped it recover and take the lead in the second half. The 10-minute stretch for Kansas at the start of the second half kept the Tar Heels in the game. Both teams had a chance in the final minutes.
The reason Kansas won this game was because it did to North Carolina what it did to Texas Southern, Providence and Miami in the NCAA tournament, as it went on one of its fabulous game-changing runs. The team was different in the second half. The pressure off Ochai Agbaji was taken off when Leaky Black picked up his fourth foul. In the second half of their Elite Eight game against the Hurricanes, the Jayhawks found the same gear they had in the first half when they scored 45 points.
You could see the fatigue in North Carolina as Kansas rallied. Bacot, who injured his ankle in the win over Duke, was limping in the second half. The Tar Heels were tired of chasing Kansas players off screens and tussling on the block with David McCormack, whose sky hook over Brady Manek gave Kansas a critical three-point lead in the final seconds.
The Jayhawks made more shots in the second half than the Heels. The Tar Heels and Kansas both met the same fate, as the Jayhawks were able to elevate to a level that no opponent could match.
The 1962-63 Loyola Chicago squad became the only team to come back from 15-point deficits in the national title game to win, and secure Bill Self's second national championship.
Definitely the latter. The Jayhawks used every weapon in their arsenal to get back in the game after they fell behind. It is not as if North Carolina gave it away. Anything but. After falling behind late, the Tar Heels made multiple big plays of their own, but they ran out of time.
The game was won by Kansas twice. The fast start might have crippled a lesser opponent, and the second-half reversal was championship caliber. It was a fitting end to one of the greatest NCAA tournaments.
Both teams deserve praise.
Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves won 14 straight NL East titles. There is one World Series. Were they amazing? Is that underachievers? What would multiple titles mean to them?
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Under Bill Self, the Kansas Jayhawks have been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament nine times. Only once before had they won the final game. Self agrees that there should have been more trophies.
The Jayhawks earned their fourth national championship in school history on Monday night, and in the process turned all of the unfulfilled No. 1 seeds into happy accidents.
Winning cures all. Two titles cements a legacy. Even if Bill Self doesn't win another game.
It depends on the NBA draft and transfer portal. I think Kansas is in better shape. The Jayhawks are ranked fourth in my Way-Too-Early Top 25 and North Carolina is ranked fifth. Bill Self should bring back two players from this season's team in Dajuan Harris Jr. and Wilson. The incoming recruiting class has three five-star prospects. Gradey Dick had a great senior season, while MJ Rice is ready for college basketball and Ernest Udeh will anchor the interior. I think the Jayhawks enter the portal for help up front.
If Bacot, Love and Davis return to Chapel Hill, North Carolina could be as high as the top five. Is that likely? Probably not. The Kemba Walker impression has put Bacot in a position to leave the NBA as well, so he might have been out the door before the NCAA tournament run. Black can use a super-senior season, but it is not certain at this point. There is more to come for Hubert Davis next season. Davis is going to need something from his newcomers, a pair of top-50 prospects. If the current stars stay or go, how big of a role they have will be determined.
We will remember that this was, finally, a return to normal, and that the season ended with an incredible run by Saint Peter's. The fans came back, and in retrospect, we will overlook the fact that there were still games canceled.
Things got going once we got to March. The first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight was made by the Peacocks. The Tar Heels made their own amazing run as a No. 8 seed. The Tar Heels ended the career of Mike Krzyzewski in the national semifinals at the Superdome.
We will remember that Kansas overcame a 15-point halftime deficit and won the title. The Jayhawks were the lone No. 1 seed in New Orleans, and they did what it takes to write their name in the history books again.
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