Kansas guard Remy Martin, shown April 2, had 14 points against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night. Photo by Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics
April 4 (UPI) — The Kansas Jayhawks rallied for a 72-69 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the NCAA men’s basketball National Championship Game on Monday night inside the Superdome in New Orleans.
The Jayhawks erased a 16-point deficit to pull off the largest comeback in national championship history, surpassing the 1963 title game when Loyola battled back from a 15-point deficit to beat Cincinnati.
In mounting the historic rally, Kansas — which faced a 40-25 deficit at halftime — captured its fourth men’s national title, including its second under head coach Bill Self.
Kansas last won the national championship in 2008, when Self guided the Jayhawks past No. 1 seed Memphis in overtime.
“Tonight, we obviously labored in the first half,” Self said. “But the kids competed.”
David McCormack scored the go-ahead basket from close range with just 1:21 remaining, then sank another shot with less than 30 seconds left to put the Jayhawks in front by three.
North Carolina missed its final four shot attempts, including Caleb Love’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. His last-second heave barely grazed the rim after officials ruled that Kansas guard DaJuan Harris Jr. stepped out of bounds on an inbounds pass with 4.3 seconds left, giving the Tar Heels one final opportunity.
The Tar Heels, however, failed to capitalize on Harris’ mistake. North Carolina went scoreless over the final 1:41 in the game.
McCormack and Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 15 points each. McCormack, who was 7 of 15 from the field, added 10 rebounds and a block.
Christian Braun scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for the Jayhawks, while transfer guard Remy Martin notched 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point territory.
Ochai Agbaji, the Jayhawks’ lone All-American, finished with 12 points and three boards. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels had scored 16 consecutive points late in the first half to take a 40-25 lead at the break, but top-seeded Kansas (34-6) went on a 31-10 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to grab a six-point lead and set up the wild finish.
The Jayhawks ultimately outscored North Carolina 47-29 in the second.
Armando Bacot had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Tar Heels, becoming the first player to record double-doubles in all six NCAA Tournament games. R.J. Davis had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Brady Manek added 13 points and 13 rebounds for North Carolina, which was attempting to join 1985 Villanova as just the second No. 8 seed to claim the March Madness crown.
Instead, the Tar Heels (29-10) fell one win shy and slipped to 6-6 all-time in national title games. North Carolina’s last championship came in 2017.
