Kansas Jayhawks Win 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Title Over the North Carolina Tar Heels

The win marks the second NCAA title for coach Bill Self, who led the team to the title victory in 2008

By

Published on April 5, 2022 01:01 AM

Kansas Jayhawks — Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty

A new NCAA men's basketball champion has been crowned.

Kansas emerged victorious on Monday night in the 2022 March Madness, bringing this year's exciting tournament to a close.

The Kansas Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69, completing the biggest comeback in championship history after being down 16 points during the first half, according to the NCAA.

David McCormack scored with 22 seconds left in the game, putting Kansas ahead three points.

The win marks the second NCAA title for coach Bill Self, who led the team to the title victory in 2008.

Going into the tournament, Kansas was seeded No. 1 in the Midwest, while UNC was seeded No. 8 in the East. As an eighth seed, North Carolina was tied for the lowest-ranked team to reach the final since seeding began in the late 1970s.

Kansas secured their spot in the final after beating Villanova in the Final Four last weekend, winning 81-65, as UNC and Duke battled it out in another game, with North Carolina scoring their victory, 81-77.

RELATED VIDEO: Indiana Cheerleaders Save NCAA Game by Retrieving a Stuck Basketball From the Top of the Backboard

Ahead of this year's tournament, North Carolina had made it to the Final Four a total of 21 times, the most by any school in college basketball history. UNC has previously been the tournament champions six times, most recently in 2017.

Kansas previously had three men's tournament wins, last topping the teams in 2008.

Despite their lower ranking than Kansas, UNC's players were feeling confident heading into the final, ESPN reported.

"Our belief all year was strong that we can get to this point," team center Armando Bacot said, per ESPN. "I don't know if it was belief or if it was just us being delusional. I mean, at every point of the season, we knew if we came together as a team that we could get to the championship. And that's what we did."