Matt Mathias

Sports Editor

 Monday night, Kansas University defeated North Carolina University in a tightly contested championship matchup. The final score of the game was 72-69 with the Jayhawks overcoming a 15-point deficit going into halftime. This was the program’s fourth national title won and its first since 2008. The Jayhawks had been successful for many years, securing four number one seeds in the March Madness tournament since 2016. However, the school seemed to always find a way to come up short. They could not be denied this year with their dynamic performance against the Tar Heels. At one point, Kansas trailed by 16-points with the score being 38-22 with 2:23 left to play in the first half of play.

North Carolina was able to secure their spot in the season finale thanks to their emotional win over Duke on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Kansas cruised to victory against Villanova.

Kansas head coach Bill Self had been quoted as wanting to win this tournament for his former 2020 Kansas Jayhawks team. The NCAA tournament at that time was canceled due to the initial COVID-19 surge at the beginning of the pandemic. At that time, the Jayhawks of 2020 were the best team in the country and were favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they never got the opportunity to take the floor.

Following the game, Self spoke about the 2020 team and this year’s championship saying, “To me, this was partially won for them too,” Self said. “It’s partially won for them, because I always thought the 2020 team was better, more equipped to do well in the NCAA tournament.” Self was sure to give credit to the team he led this year though saying, “After the way these guys played in the last month, I think this team can play with any team Kansas has ever put on the floor.”

Kansas’s comeback aside, the Tar Heels were forced into a downward spiral, collapsing thanks to a multitude of issues. Everything from injuries, a player vomiting on the court, and a loose floorboard leading to a sprained ankle led to the demise of North Carolina. Most significantly, the floorboard issue came as the Tar Heels trailed 70-69 with 50 seconds left in regulation. Replays showed how the court gave way to the weight of Armando Bacot, inevitably leading to him heading home on the team bus in an ankle boot. Bacot turned the ball over in this exchange which ended up forcing NC in a corner and going down by 3 points, a deficit that they were unable to come back from.

Following the game, Puff Johnson explained the moment which was most likely the first time vomit had been on the court of the March Madness finals. Johnson was hit in the stomach and said, “Just didn’t go well once I got hit in the stomach.”

Oddities with the Tar Heels certainly had a role in their defeat. However, the comeback and physical domination that Kansas exuded on the court still was plenty to defeat North Carolina with the way they were performing. They were cold shooting the ball and couldn’t match the intensity and physicality of the Jayhawks. To be fair, the number eight seeded Tar Heels overachieved all expectations in head coach Hubert Davis’s first year leading the team. Defeating Duke and ending the career of famed college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski should certainly provide room for some optimism within the program for years to come.