An End to the Madness
This past Monday, we witnessed the shocking end to this year's March Madness season.
In a surprising turn of events, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 76-69. According to Sports Illustrated, “number one Kansas defeated number eight UNC in one of the most stunning comebacks in college basketball history.” The fate of the 2022 season was at hand, and the Jayhawks were crowned the champions.
Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana was home to the championship game. Not only did the Jayhawks leave from the Superdome victorious, but they made history with their post-halftime comeback. According to The Athletic, “Kansas overcame a 15-point deficit at halftime, the largest in national championship history, to capture its first NCAA Tournament Title since 2008.” Kansas’ defeat granted the team their fourth National Championship, and marked the second for coach Bill Self. Not only did the Jayhawks achieve triumph, but Self’s coaching skills won for making him the first Kansas coach to win more than one NCAA title.
North Carolina took the tarheel by its reins and went on a 16-1 run in the first half of the game, placing them as the clear winners going into the second half. The Jayhawks continued to fight back, and inevitably rose as champions from the efforts of David McCormack, Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, and Remy Wilson. According to The Athletic, “David McCormack had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Wilson added 15 points while Ochai Agbaji and Christian Bruan contributed 12 points each. Remy Martin came up big off the bench dropping 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the deep.”
According to Sports Illustrated, “Jayhawks star and Big 12 player of the year Ochai Agbaji was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The senior guard recorded 12 points and three rebounds in the win, and averaged 18.9 PPG on this season.” It required a team effort for Kansas to comeback and beat North Carolina, and that’s exactly what these players did. They led their team to an astounding victory and yet another championship.
The last minute of the game was probably where the most heat occurred. Carolina’s Armanda Bacot suffered an ankle injury with 50 seconds remaining, leaving him on the bench for the remainder. Kansas’ victory was almost squashed when DaJuan Harris stepped out of bounds with 3.2 seconds left, giving North Carolina the ball. The ball was sent to Caleb Love, who missed a potential game tying shot.
Kansas had the comeback of the century starting off 15-points down, and won their way to become the NCAA 2022 Champions.. I always root for the underdog, but I think the Jayhawks have earned my respect this time. Kansas swept in and stole the title from Carolina just like a Jayhawk would do!!