After leading by 15 in the first half, the North Carolina men's basketball team was outscored by Kansas 47-29 in the second half in a 72-69 loss in the national championship.
What happened?
The Jayhawks were dialed in to start the game, blitzing out to a 7-0 start. UNC got on the board two minutes in, when graduate forward Brady Manek drilled his first triple to stop the run. Kansas’ David McCormack added a left-handed hook to extend the lead to 9-3 before the first media timeout.
After Kansas built momentum, UNC quickly responded. Over the next several minutes, the Tar Heels went on a 9-3 run to build a 12-11 lead. However, the Jayhawks countered with baskets on the next few possessions and held a 15-12 advantage with 10:45 left in the half.
A banked-in three from Kansas’ Remy Martin put the Jayhawks up four, but UNC responded with an 8-0 run led by a flurry of jumpers by sophomore guard RJ Davis. At the under-eight timeout, the Tar Heels were up 22-18.
After Kansas tied the game at 22, the Jayhawks tried to get the ball inside to McCormack but turned the ball over twice. On the other end, Manek nailed two straight threes to put the Tar Heels up six before Kansas called timeout. UNC continued to push the pace offensively and added four more points to go up 32-22 with 3:46 to go.
The Jayhawks maintained their focus on getting the ball inside, yet stout defense from the Tar Heels held them scoreless. UNC scored six more points to conclude its 16-0 run while keeping Kansas off the board for almost four minutes of play. Following a series of defensive stops, the Tar Heels headed into the break with a 40-25 lead.
Kansas ran out of the break with six quick points before a three by sophomore guard Caleb Love stopped the run. The Jayhawks continued to trim away at the deficit, and an and-one finish from Jalen Wilson made the score 45-37 just over four minutes in.
Senior wing Leaky Black picked up his fourth foul with 13:52 to play, which helped Kansas chip away even more. Following a series of turnovers, the Jayhawks ran the break to cut UNC’s lead to 46-45 before head coach Hubert Davis called timeout. Love made a layup high off the glass after the break before Kansas’ Christian Braun made one of his own to make it 48-47.