Kansas forward David McCormack and North Carolina guard R.J. during the 2022 NCAA tournament finals.
Credit: © David J. Phillip, AP Photo

On Monday, April 4, the University of Kansas Jayhawks overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, 72-69, and win the school’s fourth National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball championship in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Jayhawks outscored the Tar Heels, 47-29, in the second half to cap the largest comeback in NCAA title game history.

North Carolina, the eighth seed in the East Region, hoped to become the first 8-seed to win the tournament since Villanova’s triumph in 1985. Led by the aggressive drives of point guard R. J. Davis and the spirited play of hobbled center Armando Bacot, the Tar Heels stunned the favored Jayhawks in the game’s first half. With several starters in foul trouble, Kansas—the Midwest Region’s top seed—looked out of sync and stumbled into halftime down 40-25.

Kansas emerged from the locker room as the more confident team, however, and quickly reduced the deficit to single digits. Center David McCormack (15 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Christian Braun (12 points, 12 rebounds) led the comeback. Forward Jalen Wilson and guards Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin also scored in double-figures for the Jayhawks. Kansas Coach Bill Self nabbed a second NCAA victory, his last coming in 2008.

North Carolina outrebounded Kansas, 55 to 35, for the game, but it couldn’t convert enough of its extra shot attempts into baskets. The Jayhawks sank 44 percent of their field goal attempts, compared with 32 percent for the Tar Heels. Bacot (15 points, 15 rebounds), Davis (15 points, 12 rebounds), and forward Brady Manek (13 points, 13 rebounds) each tallied double-doubles for the Heels in the hard-fought game.

Carolina guard Caleb Love, whose heroics in Saturday’s semifinal led the Tar Heels to an 81-77 upset win over their archrival, the Blue Devils of Duke, had a rough game Monday night. Dogged by a tender ankle and a host of long, physical defenders, he missed 19 of his 24 shots, including an errant three-point attempt as time expired. Love had scored 28 points to dispatch Duke and send the Blue Devils’ legendary leader, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, into retirement a game earlier than Duke fans had hoped. Coach “K” finished his illustrious 47-year career with a record 1,202 wins, including 5 NCAA titles.

* * *

The NCAA women’s basketball championship took place a night earlier, on April 3. The top-ranked and top overall seed University of South Carolina Gamecocks led throughout, defeating the University of Connecticut Huskies, 64-49, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Junior forward Aliyah Boston, the consensus national player of the year, amassed 11 points and 16 rebounds for the Gamecocks. Speedy senior guard Destanni Henderson played her greatest game on the biggest stage, tallying a career-high 26 points and frustrating the Huskies with relentless defensive pressure.

The Huskies, led by 14 points from star sophomore guard Paige Bueckers, were overwhelmed by the intensity and physicality of the Gamecocks. South Carolina outrebounded Connecticut, 49-24, and shot 26 free throws to the Huskies’ 4. South Carolina and Coach Dawn Staley brought home their second NCAA title, the first coming in 2017.

In a televised post-game interview, Henderson praised her coach and teammates, and she spoke of believing in herself through numerous on- and off-court challenges. The moment also served to highlight the NCAA’s new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy that allows amateur athletes to profit from their collegiate fame. As the interview drew to a close, the fashion-forward guard squeezed in a plug for her clothing line, aptly named “Hennything is Possible.”

April 15, 2016

Breanna Stewart (left), Moriah Jefferson (center), and Morgan Tuck pose with the WNBA jerseys they will be wearing when the season starts next month. The University of Connecticut teammates were the top three picks in the 2016 WNBA draft.
Credit: © 2016 NBAE (Photo by Steven Freeman, NBAE/Getty Images)

Last night, April 14, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft was held—fittingly—in Connecticut. The Seattle Storm surprised no one with the top overall pick: University of Connecticut (UConn) superstar Breanna Stewart. In her four years at UConn, Stewart redefined greatness in women’s college basketball. First, she led her team to four consecutive NCAA national titles. Second, she earned the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award all four of those years. Third, as the top women’s player overall, Stewart was named Naismith College Player of the Year the past three years. So no, it was no surprise that “Bre” went number one. The Seattle Storm are no doubt counting their lucky stars to have her.

But then came the next two picks, chosen by the San Antonio Stars and the Connecticut (that state again!) Sun: UConn guard Moriah Jefferson and UConn forward Morgan Tuck. Yes, UConn again and again. For the first time, a single school produced the top three basketball picks in the same draft. It is fitting that a team with four-straight NCAA championships and a 75-game winning streak should have its top players go 1-2-3 in the draft. No doubt the college basketball world beyond UConn is happy to see them go. But UConn, as always, surely has terrific players waiting to take their places. Now that Stewart, Jefferson, and Tuck will be professionals on different teams at opposite ends of the country, they’ll have to get used to playing against each other. Will the camaraderie endure?

The fourth player chosen in the draft, by the way, was University of Minnesota guard Rachel Banham, and the rest of the first round was dispersed evenly to colleges around the United States. Sorry, UConn, you can’t have them all… Twice before in the WNBA draft, players from the same school were selected one and two. In the inaugural 1997 draft, USC’s Tina Thompson and Pamela McGee were the top picks. In 2002, the top two selections were Sue Bird and Swin Cash from—where else?—UConn.

April 6, 2016

Connecticut’s Morgan Tuck (3), Kia Nurse (11), and Breanna Stewart (30) celebrate Connecticut’s victory over Syracuse in the championship game at the women’s Final Four on April 5, 2016.
Credit: © Michael Conroy, AP Photo

Last night, April 5, the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies women’s basketball team defeated the Syracuse University Orange 82-51 to win an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. It was the 11^th NCAA title for UConn and their coach Geno Auriemma, who now has more titles than legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden. The women’s tournament has been played every year since 1982, and UConn first won it in 1995. Last night’s game was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

UConn’s 31-point margin of victory looks large enough, but the game really wasn’t that close. During an apparent breather in the third quarter, UConn let Syracuse rattle off 16 points in a row. UConn was even playing short-handed. Their top 3-point shooter, freshman Katie Lou Samuleson, watched the game from the bench with an injured foot. UConn has done more than dominate women’s college basketball. They own it. Last night’s win was the 75^th in a row for the Huskies. This year, 25 of their 38 wins (with no losses, obviously) were by 40 points or more.

UConn senior center Breanna Stewart scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists on her way to winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. She won it last year, too, and the year before, and the year before that.

April 9, 2014

The University of Connecticut established itself as the undisputed monarch of college basketball, winning both the NCAA men’s and women’s championships in a 24-hour period. It was only the second time in NCAA history that one school won both championships in the same season, and it was Connecticut who accomplished the feat first, back in 2003-2004.

The women’s victory on April 8 was no great surprise. Coach Geno Auriemma’s team came into the finals against opponent Notre Dame with a 39-game winning streak and overwhelmed the previously undefeated Fighting Irish 79-58. It was the school’s second-consecutive women’s title and gave Auriemma his ninth NCAA championship, breaking the record of eight he had shared with former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Breanna Stewart led UConn with 21 points and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four for the second straight year.

Connecticut’s men’s victory on April 7 was a far different story. UConn was seeded 7th in its tournament and was established as a clear underdog against the red-hot University of Kentucky team. Kentucky’s roster was packed with freshmen who seemed destined to become National Basketball Association millionaires after the next NBA draft. But behind the steady play of guards Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright, UConn jumped out to an early lead and fought off several Kentucky surges to take the title with a 60-54 victory. The school became the lowest seed ever to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship. The victory was a personal triumph for UConn’s 42-year old coach Kevin Ollie, who won the title in only his second year at the school.

Additional World Book articles:

• Basketball
• Basketball (1995) (a Back in Time article)
• Basketball (1997) (a Back in Time article)
• Basketball (2013) (a Back in Time article)

April 10, 2013

Women’s basketball history was made yesterday when the University of Connecticut’s UConn Huskies won their eighth National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Championship under coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies beat the University of Louisville Cardinals 93-60, the most lopsided victory ever in a title game.

Geno Auriemma began coaching women’s basketball as an assistant coach in 1978 with St. Joseph’s University.  He began coaching the Connecticut women’s basketball team in 1986. His UConn Huskies won the NCAA National Championship in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2013. The 1995, 2002, 2009, and 2010 teams were undefeated.

Only one other women’s basketball program has won the NCAA title eight times–the Tennessee Volunteers under coach Pat Summit. Summit played women’s basketball for the University of Tennessee in the 1970′s. She was co-captain of the U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal at the Montreal games in 1976. She began coaching for the Tennessee Volunteers in 1974 while a graduate assistant. Her teams won NCAA National Championships in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Auriemma has the possibility of breaking the NCAA record with the Huskies but, sadly, Summitt stopped coaching in 2012. She suffers from early-onset dementia.

Additional World Book articles:

• Basketball (2010 Back in time)
• Basketball (2012 Back in time)
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)