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.

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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 4, 2017

Carolina (North & South) college basketball reached its apex over the past couple nights as the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments came to a close. On the women’s side Sunday night, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks downed the Mississippi State University Bulldogs 67-55 to win their first NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) championship. Last night, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men claimed their sixth national title with a 71-65 win over the Gonzaga University Bulldogs (of Spokane, Washington).

South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (22) shoots over Mississippi State defenders during the title game of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament on April 2, 2017, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Credit: © Ben Solomon, Getty Images

Sunday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, South Carolina jumped out to a quick lead on Mississippi State and never looked back. The Gamecocks led by 10 at halftime and hovered around that advantage for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs closed to within 5 points at one point in the fourth quarter, but South Carolina responded with a 12-2 run to put the game away. It was the third match-up this season between the Southeastern Conference rivals, and Mississippi State was on the losing end all three times.

South Carolina junior forward A’ja Wilson scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the title clincher and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player (MOP). South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley became the first former women’s MOP to also lead a team to an NCAA title. Staley earned MOP honors playing guard for the University of Virginia in the 1991 tournament.

Mississippi State fell short of a title, but the Bulldogs earned respect throughout the country two nights earlier when they knocked off the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies in the semifinals. Mighty UConn had won 111 consecutive games and the last four NCAA women’s national championships.

North Carolina’s Justin Jackson dunks in the final minute of the Tar Heels’ 71-65 victory over Gonzaga in the NCAA Division I men’s tournament final on April 3, 2017, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Credit: © Chris Steppig, Getty Images

On Monday night at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Gonzaga led early as North Carolina suffered from poor shooting, and the Bulldogs took a three-point lead into halftime. The two powerhouse number 1 seeds then pushed each other through a second half of back-and-forth action and constant lead changes. The score remained tight as Gonzaga took a 65-63 lead with 1:55 left on the clock. The rest of the game was all Tar Heels, however, and–amid a series of wild plays–they scored the last 8 points of the game to win the title. North Carolina junior guard Joel Berry II led the Tar Heels with 22 points and earned tournament MOP honors.

North Carolina avenged last year’s loss in the tournament, and South Carolina won the prize for the first time: a good wrap to the college basketball season for the Carolinas. For Bulldogs fans in Mississippi and Washington, the heartbreaking finish capped an exciting run that saw both Mississippi State and Gonzaga reach their first-ever championship games.