NCAA basketball

The No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks defeated the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 to win the NCAA men's basketball national championship Monday night, ...

Monday night’s win caps off a 34-6 title run led by Braun and senior guard Ochai Agbaji, both of whom are projected to be selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft this summer. Kansas was dominant for much of the 2022 tournament, defeating three of its previous five opponents by double digits, including Sunday’s 81-65 victory over No. 2 seed Villanova in the Final Four. For Self, the win marks his second championship with Kansas in four Final Four appearances. The No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks defeated the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship Monday night, claiming the fourth men’s title in the University of Kansas’ history and its first since 2008.

NEW ORLEANS — For some reason, with his team down by 15 points at halftime of the championship game of the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament, ...

He kissed it and wafted it to the sky, like a chef would after cooking up a masterpiece in the kitchen, perhaps the culinary version of 15 and 10 in the national championship game. But it was McCormack who wore the net — a big prize for a big man, all 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds of him. At that point, Wilson looked to his left and locked eyes with Lightfoot, as the teammates silently sat wide-eyed at the praise. We’ll never know if Kansas, as the presumptive No. 1 overall seed in 2020, would’ve won the NCAA tournament. Kansas didn't have Azuibuike or Dotson or Garrett, but it did have the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Ochai Agbaji, who scored the game's first points on a rhythm 3-pointer, picking up where he left off against Villanova, an opponent that saw Agbaji make a Final Four record six of seven 3-pointers. It’s partially won for them because I always thought the 2020 team was better, more equipped to do well in the NCAA tournament.” After all, he was now playing in the national championship. There’s a reason the 83.3-percent chance of victory that North Carolina held at halftime, according to kenpom.com, felt like it might as well have been rounded up even higher as the Tar Heels ran to the locker room for intermission. Only one team in the history of the sport has ever been there, down by 15 points in the national championship game, and come out victorious. Meanwhile, the soon-smiling McCormack was soon telling Braun and his Kansas teammates, “Just believe in yourself, have fun with it. Johnson’s offensive rebound and putback before the halftime buzzer sounded gave the Tar Heels the 15-point halftime advantage that will now go down in infamy. On Sunday, one Kansas official initially dismissed the notion that such pictures exist, suggesting no cameras were present.

The Kansas Jayhawks rallied behind the greatest comeback in national championship history Monday over the University of North Carolina to claim the men's ...

Prior to Monday's game, Kansas had played in 10 national title games. With 1:30 left in the game, North Carolina was once again ahead by a single point, 69-68, until Kansas starting forward David McCormack sank a two-pointer, turning the tables on the Tar Heels. McCormack sank another two points shortly after, securing a 72-69 lead and the championship for Kansas.

After winning the 2022 NCAA men's college basketball championship, the Kansas Jayhawks are projected by Caesars Sportsbook to repeat as national title ...

Now Kansas heads into the offseason as the favorite for next season, too. Kansas coach Bill Self describes what put his team in a hole at halftime and how the Jayhawks initiated their historic comeback. Kansas coach Bill Self describes what put his team in a hole at halftime and how the Jayhawks initiated their historic comeback.

Who has the edge at each position in the national championship game on Monday night? Here's the breakdown.

Thankfully for Kansas, McCormack has been at his best in the last two games and is entering off a season-high 25-point outing against Villanova. But McCormack at his worst could get eaten alive by Bacot, who is far more consistent in his rebounding and scoring contributions than McCormack. Bacot has an absurd 43 rebounds over the last two games, and he will be a hassle for the Jayhawks to deal with. Wilson is also enough of an outside threat to keep UNC's defense from sagging, and he's got the chops to beat opponents off the dribble. So while Black is a solid role player, Braun is an elite role player with the offensive game to be a difference-maker. Love could just as easily be considered the "one" for UNC considering how often he has the basketball in his hands and the fact that he and Davis have nearly identical assist numbers. Davis put up 30 points in a second-round win over No. 1 seed Baylor and had 18 in Saturday's Final Four win over Duke. Harris isn't asked to carry a heavy offensive load for the Jayhawks, but his 3-for-5 mark from 3-point range against Villanova in the Final Four was a huge boost in helping KU keep the Wildcats at arm's length. The Jayhawks and Tar Heels own a combined nine national titles and are two card-holding members of the sport's elite class commonly known as the blue bloods.

The Jayhawks' offense came alive as they scored 47 points after halftime, with starting forward David McCormack scoring the team's final four points, including ...

The second one put Kansas ahead by three, after North Carolina's Armando Bacot had to be helped off the floor with an apparent right leg injury. The play was reviewed, time was added back on the clock and North Carolina took a 30-second timeout. There was some late drama, as Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. stepped out of bounds in the final seconds — 4.3 to be exact — with Kansas up three as he tried to avoid North Carolina's efforts to foul him and extend the game.

Andy Katz ranks his top 10 moments from March Madness in 2022, beginning with Kansas' championship win over North Carolina.

Arkansas and Kentucky lead our first look at next year, but there's plenty of NCAA roster movement to come.

But Edey alone combined with a strong collection of role players is enough to keep this club in the top 25. This Dayton team won’t be as good as the one Obi Toppin had trending toward a potential No. 1 seed in ’20, but it has the potential for an incredibly special season. But with the additions of a pair of elite freshmen in Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller, along with young returnees such as Charles Bediako and Darius Miles, give this group the chance to have a special season. But with a returning backcourt headlined by Dalen Terry and Kerr Kriisa and potential for one or both of Koloko and Tubelis to return, this group will be in the mix to win the Pac-12 yet again. Any questions about Mark Adams’s ability to lead the Red Raiders’ program were quickly answered in his first season as the head man in Lubbock, leading Tech to a No. 3 seed and a spot in the Sweet 16. Achilles injuries are notoriously fickle, and there’s no guarantee that the veteran wing will be 100% by November. But a healthy Moore combined with emerging big man Eric Dixon, talented young wing Jordan Longino and five-star freshman Cam Whitmore should be enough to keep this group relevant in the national picture. If Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua can get healthy after a devastating knee injury in February, this team will be one of the more complete rosters (at least on paper) in the country next season. Baylor adds five-star freshman Keyonte George to this mix for next season, a dynamic scoring guard who’ll pair well with LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler (who could pursue professional options as well) for one of the more impressive backcourts in the sport. But Roach could be one of the nation’s better point guards in ’22–23, and he’ll be feeding the ball to the likes of do-it-all wing Dariq Whitehead and uber-talented forwards Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively. There may be some growing pains with a first-time coach, but don’t expect a major drop-off. There will be roster turnover this offseason—we’re penciling in the departure of Bennedict Mathurin in these rankings, but frontcourt stars Christian Koloko and Azuolas Tubelis could also head to the pros. Plus, the future is extremely bright for youngsters Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander, who each had huge games in the Big Dance. This group is a couple of transfer additions away from having limitless potential next season. Now, the Cougars should get back Sasser (the team’s best player) and Mark, joining emerging point guard Jamal Shead to form one of the most impressive backcourts in the sport.

The Kansas Jayhawks and North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball teams are set for another clash, this time for the national championship. This was an unlikely ...

Kansas has three NCAA tournament titles, with its last championship coming in 2008. Williams moved from KU to UNC in 2003, and he retired last year. “It was hard for me (to) take because I was a young man everybody expected so much from.” This was an unlikely match-up at the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, but it just makes sense given both schools’ long history of winning. Here’s the teams’ history The University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina have a total of nine NCAA championships.