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The NCAA men’s national basketball championship game features two of the best schools in the history of the game in Kansas and North Carolina.
The Jayhawks bring their three national championships to the table and are looking for a fourth and their first since 2008. The Tar Heels are looking for a seventh national title after previously winning in 2017.
Kansas entered the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed and is the last remaining #1 seed. The Jayhawks defeated Texas Southern, Creighton, Providence, Miami (FL) and Villanova to advance to the National Finals. Kansas faced Villanova in Saturday night’s Final Four and easily won the game 81-65.
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RJ Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates defeating the Duke Blue Devils in the semifinals game of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
North Carolina entered the NCAA Tournament No. 8 but rode a wave of momentum, winning its final eight of 10 games and managing to earn a berth in the tournament despite not appearing in the ACC Championship. The Tar Heels defeated Marquette, Baylor, UCLA, Saint Peter’s and handed their final defeat to Mike Krzyzewski and Duke.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis is in an interesting position heading into the national championship. Davis has a chance to follow Steve Fisher and win a national title in his first-ever season as head coach. Fisher did it for Michigan in 1989.
Davis was also a member of the 1991 team that lost to Kansas in the Final Four. Davis scored 25 points in the game and led all scorers, but the Tar Heels failed to win. Kansas would lose to Duke in that game – Krzyzewski’s first national championship.
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“Before we won the national championship in 2017, from 1991 to 2017, I used to watch that game at least once a year,” Davis said of the 1991 game on Sunday.
“It’s the best team I’ve ever played with, with (King Rice) and (Rick Fox) and Pete Chilcutt as a senior and George Lynch, we were bonded the way this team is bonded now. And we really felt like we had a shot at winning the national championship and we fell short.” And that was a game where Coach Smith got two technical fouls and got kicked out, and it was an emotional game and an emotional end to a season.
“And playing at Carolina was what I always wanted for me, to cut those nets as a player. And we were so close and couldn’t have that experience. And that was the hardest loss I’ve ever had in my entire life, and grateful that I had an experience that — or had the opportunity to be an assistant coach and be a part of it again and be an assistant coach and be a part of the championship can from 2017. But this loss was difficult to cope with.”
Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks talks to player Ochai Agbaji #30 during the second half of the game against the Villanova Wildcats during the Final Four semifinals of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by ) (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Bill Self took over in Kansas after Roy Williams left for the North Carolina job and helped transform the Jayhawks into an enduring powerhouse of a team every year. However, Self has only one championship to his credit—in 2008, when the team beat Memphis in overtime.
“We’ve had some really great seasons and some great teams that have come up short. And I think when you’ve got as many good teams as we have — in most places, winning a national championship would be quite an achievement — I think as many good teams as we’ve had, one isn’t enough,” Self said Sunday .
“And that’s why I don’t think I personally feel the pressure that we have to win. But I know that if you have the chance to train in a place where you have the opportunity to be in the game most years, I know you have to do it and take advantage of that more than we do.”
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Kansas was on track to be No. 1 at the 2020 tournament and was a favorite to win until the COVID pandemic ruined everything.
“It was tough for everyone. I mean, it’s just been a tough year for everyone, whatever your profession. Everyone was affected in some way. It was probably our best equipped team to go deep into a tournament, at least go into a tournament,” said Self. “We had the best big man defensive end in the country. We had the best guard defensive end in the country and we had a second-team All-American on top of that, so that was tough for our guys.
“But they coped well. And what probably made it a little harder was the year before we got knocked down in the second round, the year after we got knocked out in the second round. So coming here I think is pretty sweet for us, in large part because a lot of the guys on that team didn’t get a chance to play there when we — I don’t know if we had a legitimate chance, but it would have took quite a bit of effort to knock us out.
Both Kansas and North Carolina are loaded.
The Kansas Jayhawks’ Christian Braun #2, Remy Martin #11, Jalen Wilson #10 and Dajuan Harris Jr. #3 react in the second half of play against the Villanova Wildcats during the NCAA Men’s Final Four semifinals Basketball Tournament 2022 at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and David McCormack, and off the bench Remy Martin were key players for the Jayhawks.
“This is the moment every kid dreams of playing for a national championship for their school, representing their school themselves at the highest level of basketball and playing in front of all these people,” Agbaji said when asked whether it was his dream to play for a national title.
“I think this is just a dream come true for me and all the guys on my team. So we’re just looking forward to playing tomorrow and everyone’s just ready.”
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Caleb Love and Armando Bacot played really well for the Tar Heels and are a big part of why the team has been so successful.
Bacot averages 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Love averages 16 points and 3.6 assists per game. Bacot appeared to have injured his ankle at the end of Saturday’s win over Duke. He said on Sunday he was sure he would play.
Head Coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels coaches from the bench as they take on the Duke Blue Devils in the first half of the semifinal game of the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Caesars Superdome April 02, 2022 in New Orleans , Louisiana. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
“My status at the moment is that I play. There’s no way I’m not playing in the national championship game. My right leg would have to be cut off so I wouldn’t play,” he said via sports illustrated.
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Tipp-Off is scheduled for Monday night at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The game begins at 9:20 p.m. ET and can be followed on TBS.