WHAT A TOURNAMENT! March Madness was jam packed with so many of the greatest sports moments that we need a second to catch our breath. One of the biggest Cinderella stories in recent years, zero perfect brackets after the first round, an 8 seed making it to the finals, Coach K’s last year as head coach, and so much more proves that The Big Dance did not disappoint. After dozens of games and crazy shots, it came down to the Final Four: Villanova, Kansas, UNC, and Duke. The battle of the blue bloods would boil down at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with the champion being crowned on Monday night.
On Saturday, the Villanova Wildcats faced Kansas Jayhawks, with the winner heading to the finals. It was a tough game for the Wildcats, with Kansas raining 3s and missing one of their star players, Justin Moore. Kansas’ David McCormack was a powerhouse, scoring an avalanche of 3-pointers and getting a lot of rebounds. Villanova fell into a hole relatively early, ending the night with a 81-65 loss in the national semifinals. For Nova fans, it was the last time they would see Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels on the college stage.
The leader of the Duke Dynasty, Mike Krzyzewski, announced his retirement earlier this year, indicating this would be his last March Madness as the Devils head coach. At 75 years old, Coach K’s resume is unmatched. He was a head coach for 47 seasons with 1,202 wins under his belt. His time at Duke led to 5 national championships, 13 final four appearances, and being inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He also represented the United States as the head coach for men’s basketball, earning him 3 Olympic gold medals. However, his reign came to an end following the historical matchup between UNC and Duke on Saturday night. It was the first time they ever played one another in March Madness and was the 100th game between the two powerhouse teams. Duke led the series 50-49, but after the dominant night the Tar Heels had, the series is now tied.
Now, let’s talk about the championship: Kansas Jayhawks vs. UNC Tar Heels. The game started out like any other with both teams playing strong and making their shots. However, 10 minutes in, UNC proved their spot in the championship. UNC star player, Armando Bacot, tallied 10+ rebounds and 10+ points, earning six straight double-double performances and becoming the first player in history to record those numbers in every round of the tournament. After the half, Kansas was down by 15 points, the largest point deficit in a final championship game. In the locker room, Jayhawks coach Bill Self, riled up his team by asking, “Would you rather be down 15 with 20 left or down 9 with 2 left?” He was referencing the 2008 moment where Kansas was down and persevered to win the championship. And this must’ve ignited something in the players because Kansas quickly opened the half with a 6-0 run, cutting UNC’s lead by 9. With foul trouble on both sides, both teams had to be careful about sending players to the line. With just under 11 minutes left, Kansas went on a crazy scoring run, cutting the lead to a single point. The final minutes are somewhat back and forth, and Kansas’ David McCormack makes a huge play, giving the Jayhawks the lead with a few seconds left. At this moment, Kansas could feel the win, but the game was far from over. As Kansas passes the ball to Dajuan Harris, he tries to break away and steps out of bounds. HIS FOOT GOES OUT OF BOUNDS. The stadium is in shock at the possibility that Kansas just handed UNC the national championship. 4.3 seconds were added to the clock and it was UNC’s final chance for a miracle to tie the game and send it to OT. Caleb Love misses a wild shot and the University of Kansas Jayhawks are your 2022 National Champions.
The highest seed to ever win the championship was 8 Villanova in 1985, so it was high stakes for UNC to tie that record. North Carolina coach Hubert Davis made history by being only the fifth first-year coach to lead his team to a title match in the first year. Going into the game, only 0.97% of brackets picked UNC to the national championship, whereas 14.19% picked Kansas. Kansas ultimately prevailed and defeated 16 TSU, 9 Creighton, 4 Providence, 10 Miami, 2 Villanova, 8 UNC for the road to the National Championship title. It was a historical moment in single game viewing records with Men’s Final Four weekend setting the second and third most viewed college basketball games ever. Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Paolo Banchero (Duke), Armando Bacot (UNC), Caleb Love (UNC), David McCormack (Kansas), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) were given the title All Tournament Team.
Overall, Monday night’s game was one for the books and one of the best finals I have seen in a while. The best time of the year is over and next March Madness has a lot to live up to. Be right back; counting down the days until Selection Sunday (335)!