2022 NCAA Championship
The Blue Blood showdown in the 2022 NCAA Championship game truly lived up to the hype on Monday night in New Orleans. An improbable run by the eight seed North Carolina Tar Heels had them facing off against fellow Blue Blood and one seed Kansas Jayhawks. Either Hubert Davis would win a title in his first season or Bill Self would join the elite coaches of college basketball with more than one title to his name. While Kansas cruised past the Villanova Wildcats, North Carolina won a thriller against their arch-rivals the Duke Blue Devils. History was bound to be made on Monday night in the Big Easy and it was indeed made.
1 Seed Kansas Jayhawks Vs. 8 Seed North Carolina Tar Heels
The opening minutes of the game had some concerned that Kansas would run away with an emotionally charged North Carolina team. A quick 7-0 lead would be ended with a much-needed Brady Manek three and North Carolina was off to the races. A methodical comeback would help North Carolina take the lead and then it looked like the Tar Heels could potentially run away with the game. Missed free throws and a long-scoring drought had Kansas in serious trouble in the first half. North Carolina was firing on all cylinders and went into the half with an impressive 40-25 lead. Everything was coming up Carolina blue in the first half of the 2022 NCAA Championship game.
Here comes Kansas ? #NationalChamponship pic.twitter.com/uVO7jzFu5a
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) April 5, 2022
A furious comeback to start the second half would spell trouble for North Carolina and suddenly the tables had turned again. Kansas would tie the game up with just over 12 minutes to go and for the rest of the game, it would be a brutal fight to the finish. Ultimately the Kansas Jayhawks’ defense and quick scoring were too much to overcome. Rock Chalk would outscore the Tar Heels 47-29 and late three-point attempts by Caleb Love, Puff, Johnson, and Caleb Love again would not fall. Kansas would win their fourth National Championship by a score of 72-69 in the Blue Blood thriller.
The heroes of the night for Kansas were David McCormack, who posted 15 points, 10 rebounds, and a late shot to put the team up by three as well as Remy Martin who posted 14 points off the bench and also came up big late in the game. The 15 point comeback was the largest in the history of the NCAA Championship game. Bill Self finally captures his second NCAA Championship and joins an elite group with more than one win. Ochai Agbaji, who had 12 points in this game, was named the 2022 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. The game truly lived up to the hype and now the Kansas Jayhawks are NCAA Champions!
