Kansas head coach Bill Self entered Monday's national title game hellbent on shedding his reputation as a Hall of Fame leader who too often came up short on college basketball's biggest stage. By halftime, the goal looked unrealistic once again, as his players faced an ominous 15-point deficit to North Carolina, that was channeling team-of-destiny energy.
But the Jayhawks' confidence never wavered inside the locker room, and the halftime speech or message from Self clearly struck a chord. Midway through the second half, Kansas miraculously erased its deficit with a monstrous 31-10 run. And with clutch shooting in the closing minutes of action, they pulled off an improbable comeback, beating North Carolina, 72-69, in New Orleans. Self captured his second championship with the program, and first since 2008.
"Kansas is a brand you can count on... Revenge for a team that couldn't play the COVID-19 year, which was going to be a No. 1 seed," former Big 12 coach and current CBS Sports college hoops analyst Chris Walker explained to The DA Show on Tuesday. "Self, I'm telling you, he's always going to have a great team... I'll say this about Bill Self, he's a high major coach who's not afraid to use the transfer portal to his advantage... He knows how to plug and play...
"I said this time and time again this year: this was the least talented team I've ever seen Kansas have. Agbaji the only top-350 player in the country when it came to Kansas -- he's an All-American, and he's your best player. Martin was a transfer... They have some guys that people didn't think were Paul Piece, or Kelly Oubre... They won the championship, I think they had a great team. But to me, the MVP of this year was the coaching job of Bill Self."
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Kansas accomplished the largest comeback win in NCAA championship game history, as the previous record belonged to 1963 Loyola Chicago (15 points vs. Cincinnati). Four of the Jayhawks' starters recorded double-digit points, and David McCormack and Jalen Wilson added 15 apiece. Although McCormack initially struggled downlow, his pair of clutch buckets inside the paint with less than two minutes left made the difference.
At this time, it's unclear whether Self and Kansas will be able to defend their championship next season. In 2019, the NCAA alleged five Level I infractions against the program, and they center around payments made to prospective recruits. Even if the school's violations are considered legal today, based on the NCAA's new rules to name, image, and likeness (NIL), the Jayhawks may face serious punishment, and Self could be forced to serve a suspension.
The entire national championship conversation between Walker and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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