There won’t be a Final Four without a No. 1 this year. No. 1 Kansas used a strong second half to close a halftime deficit and eventually defeated No. 10 Miami 76-50 in the Midwest Regional Finals.
The Jayhawks (32-6) are heading into their fourth Final Four under coach Bill Self and their first since 2018. The opponent in 2022 is the same as it was then, with Kansas meeting Villanova Orleans in New on Saturday at 6:09 p.m.
Kansas has battled among itself in the Elite Eight, going 3-5 ahead of Sunday’s win. And with Kameron McGusty scoring 14 points in the first half, it looked like the Jayhawks were in for another tough regional final. Kansas led 27-26 before Miami (26-10) ended the half with a 9-2 run to give a 35-29 halftime advantage.
Kansas didn’t waste much time eradicating that edge in the second half. Christian Braun’s three-pointer – Kansas’ first of the game – with 15:27 left broke a 40-all tie, and about five minutes later Ochai Agbaji’s own three-pointer pushed the lead into double digits with 12. Miami could never cut that back to single digits.
Five Jayhawks scored at least nine points, led by Agbaji, who broke out of his recent slide with 18 points in 8-of-12 shooting and he added five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
McGusty ended with 18 points, leading the Hurricanes.