North Carolina falls 72-69 to Kansas, ending surprise run to national title game
Posted April 4, 2022 7:32 p.m. EDT
Updated April 5, 2022 1:07 a.m. EDT
 North Carolina Tar Heels |
69 |
 3Kansas Jayhawks |
72 |
| Final | |
Final: Kansas 72, North Carolina 69
0:01: Guard Caleb Love missed a 3-point jumper and time expired as UNC got an offensive rebound. Kansas wins 72-69.
The Jayhawks erased a 16-point deficit when they trailed the Tar Heels 38-22 with 2:11 in the first half. At halftime, the Jayhawks trailed 40-25.
Love finished the game 5-of-24 shooting from the floor, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
4.3 seconds left: Kansas guard Dajuan Harris stepped out of bounds after retrieving the inbounds pass. UNC will get the ball back with 4.3 seconds left.
Kansas had the ball leading 72-69. Brady Manek threw the ball out of bounds after getting an offensive rebound following a Puff Johnson missed three-point jumper.
38 seconds left: Armando Bacot twists ankle on a drive to the basket and leaves the game.
1:41: UNC forward Brady Manek gets an offensive rebound and putback off Caleb Love's missed layup. The Tar Heels lead 69-68.
2:15: Kansas guard Remy Martin hits a 3-pointer and then UNC guard Caleb Love makes a layup. Kansas leads 68-67
3:06: UNC forward Brady Manek hits two free throws to tie the game at 65-65.
3:45: Armando Bacot gets the offensive rebound off a Caleb Love missed layup. Bacot is fouled and will shoot free throws after the TV timeout. Kansas leads 65-61.
6:27: Sophomore guard Puff Johnson scores seven consecutive points for the Tar Heels.
7:17: Kansas guard Remy Martin hits a 3-pointer from the corner to give Kansas a 60-57 lead.
10:53: Guard Ochai Agbaji makes an and-one layup on a foul by Puff Johnson. Agbaji makes the free throw to tie the game.
11:36: Guard Caleb Love makes a layup on the first possession out of UNC's timeout. Christian Braun makes a layup on the Jayhawks' next possession. The Tar Heels lead 48-47 at the TV timeout.
12:41: KU forward David McCormack made a hook shot. On the next Jayhawks' possession, guard Christian Braun makes a fast-break layup off an Ochai Agbaji assist. UNC takes a timeout. The Tar Heels lead the Jayhawks, 46-45.
KU is on a 20-6 run to start the second half. Kansas started 10-of-16 shooting in the second half whereas UNC started 3-of-16 shooting.
13:52: Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji goes 0-of-2 from the free-throw line. UNC leads 46-41.
14:50: Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji makes one of his three free throw attempts, cutting the UNC lead to 45-39.
15:40: Jalen Wilson makes a layup and is followed by Brady Manek. Wilson makes the free throw after the TV timeout. UNC leads 45-37.
The Jayhawks start the second half on 13-5 run.
17:25: The Jayhawks start the second half on a 6-3 run. UNC guard Caleb Love makes the a 3-pointer for the Tar Heels' first basket of the second half.
19:23: David McCormack slams home an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Dajuan Harris.
Halftime: UNC 40, Kansas 25
End of half: The Tar Heels lead 40-25 at half. Puff Johnson's offensive rebound and layup helped extend the Tar Heel's lead just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot has a game-high 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bacot's 31 double-doubles this season are tied for most ever by a player in a single season with Navy’s David Robinson in 1985-86.
Bacot is 3-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
UNC forward Brady Manek has 9 points and 4 rebounds.
The Tar Heels are 13-of-16 from the free-throw line whereas the Jayhawks are 3-of-4 from the foul line.
UNC also has a big advantage on the glass, outrebounding KU, 27-18. The Tar Heels have an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Guard Ochai Agbaji leads Kansas in scoring with 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
0:59: UNC takes a timeout leading 38-23.
1:49: UNC is on a 16-1 run, but Armando Bacot misses two free throws. Kansas hasn't had a field goal in 4-plus minutes.
2:40: Armando Bacot's layup gives UNC a 34-22 lead over Kansas. An RJ Davis layup gives Kansas a 36-22 lead. Kansas takes another timeout.
3:53: The Tar Heels lead 32-22. UNC has a 21-16 rebounding advantage against KU. The Tar Heels are 11-of-12 from the free-throw line whereas the Jayhawks are 2-of-2. RJ Davis has 9 points on 2-of-7 shooting, but he is 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
4:17: At 29-22, the Jayhawks are facing their largest deficit of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Tar Heels guard RJ Davis made three free throws to extend UNC's lead to 32-22. The Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run.
5:10: UNC forward Brady Manek makes back-to-back three-pointers. It came after Jalen Wilson got an offensive rebound and layup for the Jayhawks. UNC leads 28-22. Kansas takes a timeout.
7:53: Tar Heels lead 22-18 at the TV timeout. Armando Bacot has seven points on 2-of-6 shooting. He also has five rebounds. Both teams are 7-of-22 shooting from the floor. The Tar Heels have six offensive rebounds. North Carolina is outrebounding Kansas, 18-12. The Tar Heels have made all seven of their free throws.
Bacot has become one of four players in ACC history to record 500-plus rebounds in a single season.
8:46: Armando Bacot makes two free throws to give North Carolina its first lead of the game. The Tar Heels lead 20-18. Bacot has seven points.
10:02: Kansas guard Remy Martin nailed a 3-point shot to extend the Jayhawks' lead 18-14.
12:30: The Tar Heels now have four offensive rebounds. Armando Bacot has five points early for the Tar Heels on 2-of-6 shooting. He also has three rebounds.
14:06: UNC has seven second-chance points on three offensive rebounds. The Tar Heels cut the Jayhawks' lead to 11-9.
16:00: Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji made the first basket of the game on a 3-point jumper.
Kansas started the game on a 7-0 run.
UNC's Brady Manek made the first shot for the Tar Heels on a 3-point jumper to cut UNC's lead to 7-3.
At the first TV timeout, North Carolina trails Kansas, 9-3.
Pregame:
North Carolina players and head coach Hubert Davis arrived around 8 p.m. ET Monday at Caesars Superdome.
Fans have dubbed Monday night’s national championship game between North Carolina and Kansas as the “Roy Williams Bowl” in reference to the former coach’s ties to both schools.
In April 2021, Williams announced his retirement and has since watched both universities win their Final Four matchups. Williams, 71, served as the head coach at UNC from 2003-2021 and at Kansas from 1988-2003.
Starters:
North Carolina
- RJ Davis
- Caleb Love
- Leaky Black
- Brady Manek
- Armando Bacot
Kansas
- Christian Braun
- Dajuan Harris
- Jalen Wilson
- Ochai Agbaji
- David McCormack
North Carolina (29-9) enters the national championship after an 81-77 win over No. 2 seed Duke on Saturday. Sophomore guard Caleb Love scored a game-high 28 points, including six in the final minute of play, to put away Duke.
Love's 28 points Saturday night are the most by a North Carolina player in a Final Four game since James Worthy scored 28 in the 1982 National Championship. Love's three highest scoring games this season have all come in the NCAA Tournament.
On Saturday, Kansas (33-6) won its Final Four game with a 81-65 victory of No. 2 seed Villanova. Senior forward David McCormack scored 25 points and senior guard Ochai Agbaji had 21 points in the win.
UNC and Kansas are playing in the Final Four for the fifth time, two more than any other matchup in Final Four history: Duke-Kansas, UCLA-Louisville and UNC-Michigan State have all played three times in the Final Four.
North Carolina defeated KU in the 1957 championship game and the 1993 semifinals; the Jayhawks beat UNC in the semifinals in 1991 and 2008.
North Carolina is playing in the national championship game for the 12th time, which is second behind UCLA’s 13 title appearances. UNC has played in the title game in 1946, 1957, 1968, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2016, 2017 and now 2022.
The Tar Heels won NCAA titles in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.
North Carolina is 6-5 all-time against Kansas. However, the Jayhawks have won the last three matchups, all in the NCAA Tournament (2008, 2012 and 2013).
Kansas is making its 10th appearance in an NCAA Championship game.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 9:20 p.m. ET at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It will air on TBS with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call.
