Kansas Jayhawks complete historic comeback to clinch 2022 national title

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) – Kansas Jayhawks were crowned the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions after beating the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 on Monday.

The No. 1 seed Jayhawks rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit against the eighth-seeded Tar Heels to clinch their sixth national championship.

It tied the largest comeback in national championship history, equaling the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers' 15-point comeback victory over Cincinnati in the 1963 title match.

Kansas entered the locker room down 40-25 at the half, but outscored North Carolina 47-29 in the second half.

"We were disappointed in how we played in the first half. Carolina was obviously a much better team, but this team has been down before," Kansas coach Bill Self said at the podium after the victory.

"I told them at halftime, 'Would you rather be down 15 with 20 (minutes) left or down nine with two (minutes) left?’ Because that was obviously what happened in 2008. They all said, ‘Let’s take 15.’ So we played off of that," he added.

The Jayhawks duo David McCormack and Christian Braun posted double-doubles at New Orleans' Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

McCormack scored 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Braun produced 12 points and 12 rebounds for the winning side. Jalen Wilson also helped his team with 15 points.

North Carolina had five players in double figures in the loss.

Armando Bacot produced 15 points and 15 rebounds, while RJ Davis scored 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Brady Manek (13 points and 13 rebounds), Caleb Love (13), and Puff Johnson (11) were North Carolina's other double-digit scorers.

The Kansas Jayhawks won their sixth national championship in school history with the victory.