The Kansas Jayhawks pulled off the largest come from behind deficit in a national championship game to beat the North Carolina Tarheels 72-69 to win the school’s fourth national championship.
The Jayhawks played like the best team in the tournament until the first half against the Tar Heels. The Jayhawks were down by as many as 16 points and eventually down 40-25 at halftime.
The Jayhawks came out firing after the half, eventually erasing the Tar Heels’ lead with less than 11 minutes to play. A back-and-forth battle ensued, with the game tied 65-65 with 3 minutes remaining. After that, the Jayhawks closed the game on a 7-4 run to a national championship.
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David McCormack finished with 15 points and ten rebounds, dueling in the paint all night with ailing Carolina big man Armando Bacot. Martin poured in 11 of his 14 points after the break, while Jalen Wilson had 15 points.
This was the 10th appearance in the title game for Kansas and the third under head coach Bill Self. This is his second title, the other coming in 2008.