In an NCAA Tournament chock-full of unpredictable upsets, must-see drama, and record-breaking finishes, the 2022 national championship was ironically captured by the lone remaining No. 1 seed. Before a raucous crowd of more than 70,000 fans inside Caesars Superdome, top-seed Kansas miraculously overcame a 16-point deficit to beat North Carolina, 72-69, on Monday night.
The title-hungry Jayhawks went into halftime trailing by 15, after allowing the Tar Heels to generate an 18-3 run in the last six minutes. But midway through the second half, momentum quickly shifted, as Kansas rallied with a stunning 31-10 run. From there, both teams went back and forth on offense, and it was Kansas that made the extra shot during crunchtime. According to ESPN Stats, it was largest comeback victory in NCAA national championship history.
"An incredible tale of two halves, an incredible display of resiliency by Kansas. Which, I think, is going to be part of something that's attached to this team in history," CBS Sports college hoops insider Jon Rothstein told Reiter Than You on Tuesday. "Think about their performance in the second half against Miami in the Elite Eight, and then last night... Definitely not Bill Self's most talented team, since he's been at Kansas. But I think we can say his most resilient...
"No player on Kansas scored more than 15 points. But again, we've so many players producing, and at an effective level... [Kansas' comeback] starts and ends with the ability to take away Brady Manek. And I felt all season long that Manek was the x-factor for UNC... He had nine quick points last night, Kansas made some defensive adjustments, he only finished with 13. That was the key to the game. Incredible adjustments by Bill Self."
The Jayhawks' historic second-half rally wouldn't have been possible without their advantage in depth. Four starters scored double-digit points, combining for 56, and sixth man Remy Martin produced 14 points off the bench. Kansas' offense clicked from beyond the arc and attacked inside the paint, and sheer intensity on defense allowed them to score 14 points off of Carolina turnovers. Overall, the Jayhawks shot a sound 43-percent from the floor, while the Heels shot well below that mark, at 31-percent.
Kansas scored 31 points on contested shots in the second half, and the two most important baskets came from star big David McCormack in the closing minutes of regulation. With the comeback win, Bill Self became just the 16th men's head coach in history to capture multiple national titles, and star guard Ochai Agbaji was named the Final Four's most outstanding player. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Jayhawks' win probability at halftime was 14-percent.
The entire national championship conversation between Rothstein and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
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