Kansas entered this year's Final Four as the lone remaining top seed, and they resembled a powerhouse team during Saturday's national semifinals. Facing a shorthanded opponent in Villanova, the title-starved Jayhawks took command from the opening tip-off, advancing to the national championship game with a convincing 81-65 win in New Orleans.
Under the stewardship of head coach Bill Self, Kansas has now reached three national finals, and the last time he and his players cut down nets was back in April 2008. That tournament run included a Final Four win over North Carolina, and on Monday inside Caesars Superdome, the two teams will take the court. With a win, Self would become the 16th NCAA head coach with multiple titles.
"I think it's just a fanbase that expects championships. And I understand that at Kansas, in particular," ESPN and Westwood One college analyst Jon Crispin told The DA Show on Monday. "But part of me thinks Bill Self is pandering to a fanbase. Of course he wants to win, and wishes he had more championships. But the reality is, it's just not that easy. The more you're in the game, the more you accept that. The fact you got to a Final Four, that's validation you seek...
"To coaches, just accept that getting there is the validation. It's not as if it's luck that you win a national championship. I can't say it like that. But I'm just saying, you need a lot of things to go your way in the Final Four... I just don't think coaches stress not winning that national championship as much as the fanbases and universities do... The reality is, no coach is going to tell you the truth that just getting to the Final Four is the height of success in this game."
Kansas' offense clicked on all cylinders during the first half, and a barrage of three-pointers helped extend their lead to a commanding 19 points with less than five minutes before the break. All-American star Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12 Player of the Year, scored 21 points and drilled six shots from behind the arc, and big David McCormack added a team-high 25 points with nine rebounds. Four of their starters also combined to score 67 of their 81 total points.
The Jayhawks and Tar Heels -- which outlasted archrival Duke in the second semifinal matchup and ended Mike Krzyzewski's coaching career -- will play at 9:20 p.m. ET on Monday night. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, Kansas currently has a 68-percent chance to win its fourth championship in program history. Interestingly enough, this game puts recently retired coach Roy Williams in a tricky position, as he reached Final Fours with both schools.
The entire Final Four conversation between Crispin and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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