Kansas Jayhawks win fourth NCAA title after historic comeback against UNC
It’s time to make room for another banner in the north rafters of Allen Fieldhouse. The Kansas Jayhawks are the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball champions.
David McCormack scored 15 points, hitting two key late buckets, and Jalen Wilson added 15 points and Remy Martin 14 to lift KU (34-6), the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, to a 72-69 historic come-from-behind victory over North Carolina (29-10), the No. 8 seed in the East, in the NCAA title game on Monday night at Caesars Superdome.
The Jayhawks trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and by 15, 40-25, at the break.
KU in winning pulled off the largest comeback victory in NCAA men’s title game history. Loyola Chicago trailed Cincinnati by 15 points in a title win over Cincinnati in 1963. KU’s win also was the biggest comeback from a halftime deficit in title game history. Kentucky trailed Utah by 10 at the break in the 1998 championship contest.
Christian Braun had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Ochai Agbaji 12 points for the Jayhawks and was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
KU claimed its fourth NCAA title in history. KU also won it in 2008, 1988 and 1952.
Armando Bacot scored 15 points with 15 rebounds and RJ Davis added 15 points, Brady Manek and Caleb Love 13 points and Puff Johnson 11 for North Carolina, which failed in its bid for a seventh NCAA crown. Manek had 13 rebounds and Davis 12.
Kansas Jayhawks win fourth NCAA title
Final score: Kansas 72, North Carolina 69
After David McCormack scored to give KU a 72-69 lead with 23 seconds left, UNC’s Brady Manek threw the ball out of bounds and KU had the ball at :04.2 with a three-point lead.
Christian Braun inbounded to Dajuan Harris, who stepped out of bounds giving UNC a final chance at 4.3 seconds. But Caleb Love’s three at the buzzer missed.
—Gary Bedore
KU up 1 (38 seconds left in second half)
It was tied at 65 when Remy Martin hit a three to make it 68-65. Caleb Love scored and after an airball from Jalen Wilson, Brady Manek scored to give UNC a 69-68 lead at 1:41.
David McCormack answered for a one-point KU lead, 70-69, with 1:21 left. Armando Bacot went down with an injury and timeout was called with KU holding possession.
—Gary Bedore
KU leads at final media timeout (3:45 left in second half)
Remy Martin hit a big three to give KU a 60-57 lead at 7:21. After a Puff Johnson bucket made it 60-59, KU’s Jalen Wilson hit a three to give the Jayhawks a 63-59 lead at 6:12. Johnson scored again to make it 63-61 but had to leave the game after taking a blow to the stomach, per the TBS broadcast. Martin scored and KU led, 65-61.
—Gary Bedore
It’s all tied up (7:48 left in second half)
KU’s Remy Martin hit a three from the corner and Jalen Wilson had a bucket and free throw and suddenly KU led 56-50 at 10:08. But UNC’s RJ Davis scored four points and after a David McCormack free throw (he made one of two), UNC’s Puff Johnson delivered a three to make it 57-57 at 7:48.
—Gary Bedore
KU cuts deficit to 1 (12:41 left in second half)
Christian Braun hit a driving layup as the Jayhawks extended their second-half surge to 20-6. The Jayhawks trailed the Heels by just one, 46-45, with 12:41 left. KU might even have the lead at this point, but Ochai Agbaji misfired on four of five free throws in a short stretch.
—Gary Bedore
Jayhawks start second half with energy (15:40 left in second half)
KU cut its 15-point second-half deficit to just seven points at 45-38 by outsourcing UNC 13-5 to open the half.
Christian Braun scored six quick points and Jalen Wilson five for a KU team that at this point looked primed to possibly make a comeback. Caleb Love hit a deep three for Carolina in the half opening stretch.
—Gary Bedore
KU trails by 15 at halftime
North Carolina’s eighth-seeded Tar Heels used a 16-0 run to bust a 22-22 tie and turn a close game against the No. 1 seeds into a one-sided affair, at least at halftime. UNC, which was led by 12 points from Armando Bacot and 11 from RJ Davis, led at the break, 40-25.
Puff Johnson put an exclamation point on UNC’s domination by scoring off an offensive rebound off a Davis miss to beat the first half buzzer.
Bacot had 10 first-half rebounds to go with his 12 points — becoming the first player with six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament. UNC outrebounded KU, 27-18, the first 20 minutes.
The Tar Heels, in an incredible stat, had 18 second chance points to KU’s two.
Ochai Agbaji scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting to lead the Jayhawks. Christian Braun was 1-for-7 shooting, good for two points with seven rebounds. Remy Martin was 1-for-5 shooting, good for three points. KU hit 10 of 33 shots for 30.3% in the half; UNC was 12 of 33 for 36.4%. In another one-sided stat, UNC hit 13 of 16 free throws to KU’s 3 of 4.
The Tar Heels were 3-of-11 from three and KU 2-of-7.
—Gary Bedore
KU down by 16 (2:17 left in first half)
North Carolina continued to roll, extending its run to 32-15 following that 7-0 deficit. Armando Bacot hit a free throw and RJ Davis two free throws and UNC had a 10-point lead at 32-22 with 3:46 left in the half.
Ochai Agbaji had taken just two shots after his three-pointer to open the game, making one, good for five total points. KU’s offense was anemic at this stage, good for 9 baskets in 28 attempts for 32.1%.
Carolina completed a 16-0 run, the one that turned a 22-22 tie into a 38-22 Tar Heel advantage at 2:30. That run was over 3 minutes, 52 seconds. KU finally scored a point when Agbaji hit one of two free throws at 2:11.
—Gary Bedore
Manek forces KU to call timeout (5:05 left in first half)
Former Sooner Brady Manek stroked two straight three-pointers to turn a 22-22 deadlock into a 28-22 UNC lead at 5:05. Coach Bill Self called a timeout after the second three. Manek accounted for nine of UNC’s first 28 points. For KU, David McCormack at this time out had six points on 3-of-7 shooting.
—Gary Bedore
Tar Heels pull ahead (7:53 left in first half)
North Carolina trailed 18-14 when Remy Martin banked in a three. The Tar Heels erased that deficit in a hurry, going on an 8-0 run to lead 22-18 at 7:53. RJ Davis had four points, Caleb Love hit a bucket and Armando Bacot two free throws in the surge. At that point of the game, both teams were 7-of-22 from the field for 31.8%. Carolina at that point was 1-of-6 from three and KU 2-of-6.
“It’s live action Tracy, it’s live action out there,” a fired-up UNC coach Hubert Davis told Tracy Wolfson during a TBS interview during the under-8 minute media timeout.
—Gary Bedore
KU back in front after UNC punches back (10:45 left in first half)
North Carolina stormed back from the early 7-0 deficit to take a 12-11 lead at 13:30 after an inside bucket and free throw by Armando Bacot. Christian Braun immediately answered, hitting a driving layup after a Brady Manek missed shot. Mitch Lightfoot hit an inside shot defended by Manek and KU led 15-12 at the under-12 minute media timeout.
—Gary Bedore
Another sizzling start for Kansas (15:56 left in first half)
Kansas, which led Villanova 10-0 in a Final Four semifinal on Saturday, opened a 7-0 lead on North Carolina and led 9-3 at the first media timeout.
Ochai Agbaji opened the scoring with a three just as he did against Nova. Then David McCormack hit a 12-foot jumper followed by two Jalen Wilson free throws.
Former Oklahoma wing Brady Manek hit a three at 17:51 for UNC’s first point. McCormack scored on a shot but his follow through hit Manek in the head. He was able to continue in the game after a stoppage.
—Gary Bedore
Danny Manning, Paul Pierce pump up Jayhawks
Monday’s game was 34 years to the day Danny Manning helped the Jayhawks defeat Oklahoma 83-79 for the NCAA title at Kemper Arena on April 4, 1988.
KU once again called upon Manning. He was asked to lend his voice to a hype video for Monday’s national championship game against North Carolina in New Orleans.
Also, on Sunday night, former KU All-American (and NBA Hall of Famer) Paul Pierce spoke to the Jayhawks and stressed the importance of the national championship game, one he never reached as a Jayhawk.
Here is what he told the team, as captured in a video on the Kansas men’s basketball Twitter account.
—Pete Grathoff
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Kansas Jayhawks win fourth NCAA title after historic comeback against UNC."
