Of course, then UNC went on a 38-15 run to take their 16-point lead, where they were getting an offense rebound on like half their misses, getting tons of free throws, and a suddenly, seemingly undersized Kansas team was missing layup after layup. Not great - and it looked over, and we could turn the 2022 Title Game into another game Bill Self would lose as a favorite.
Then of course there was the 10-minute stretch that ended with the Jayhawks up 56-50 (a 31-10 run), punctuated with a Remy Martin three, and a Jalen Wilson and-one - and it definitely seemed more than over at that point, that Kansas took it over, were running the Tar Heels out of the gym, and would cruise to a safe victory.
Of course, while some of that was true (it was clear North Carolina was a bit worn out by the end, even aside from the injuries), North Carolina valiantly came back behind their rarely-played 8th guy in Puff Johnson and made it a game down to the wire. It was a great end to what was a great tournament, short on buzzer beaters, but full of upsets (St. Peters!), classic finishes, the end of Coach K in the best/worst way possible, and of course a worthy Kansas team finally getting a second title for Bill Self.
It is very ironic that this is the team that finally gets Bill Self his long awaited second title. This wasn't an unknown team, it was Top-5 for much of the year, was a #1 seed in the tournament, and if you said at the start of the season that Kansas won, no one would be shocked - unless we looked back at all the better Kansas teams, both on paper and actual performance up until their untimely loss.
Whether it was the 2010 team that went 32-2 led by Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins and both Morris twins, that got shocked by Northern Iowa, or the team the following year that also went 32-2 and got shocked by VCU in teh Elite Eight. Whether it was the great back to back teams in 2016 and 2017, losing in the Elite Eight both years, first to Villanova (admittedly, teh eventual champion) and then to Oregon in a stunning upset.
Bill Self's tough exits are only meaningful because how often he gets his teams to a place with a top seed and so many expectations. There are no down Kansas teams, which makes it very likely there will be some loss in the tournament each year. Well, not this year. This team succeeded in especially all the moments the prior incarnations slipped.
From their ability to be composed throughout their 2nd round game (a common Self tripping point - look to the 2010 team) despite never really getting much separation from a game, underseeded, Creighton team. Or them coming through after a rough first half in the Elite Eight (THE Self tripping point) against Miami to blitz them with one of the most dominant half you will ever see in a 47-15 domination.
And of course there was that final - playing about as bad as you can in simple ways. Not finishing at the rim, not boxing out, not playing fast against a team that was hurting to play slow after expending so much against Duke and playing largely a 7-man lineup all year. Well, they reversed all those things in a dominant 10-minute stretch that will define this team because it was so accordant to what they used to do when faced with nothing going their way. This team came together, made the right changes, and pushed, pushed, pushed through a 10-minute sprint to re-take the lead, basically for good.
From Christian Braun, finally hitting layups after missing so many in the first half, to Remy Martin finding his stroke with a series of threes, to Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris playing haunting defense. But let's focus on David McCormack, who was fed the ball over and over and failed over and over in that depressing first half, to clinching it with two great clutch bunny hooks to close the game out. He was one of the few players to actually be a key performer on the oft-mentioned 2020 team that was #1 at the time of the shutdown, and he seemed to wear that a lot, first as a weight that dragged him down, but then as a way to attain his personal mountaintop.
For a second, we should talk about North Carolina, who played excellently and just ultimately lost to a better team. They survived what seemed like a lost season to put it together and play well above that 8 seed. They were mentally strong enough to strut into Cameron indoor and dominate Duke in Coach K's last home game. They were good enough to take a 25-point lead against Baylor, and calm enough to survive Baylor's comeback run despite referees basically committing crimes by how much they've swallowed their whistles. They of course were strong enough to play Duke to a draw the whole way. And they shown bright against Kansas, it is just the Jayhawks shone brighter.
The Jayhawks ultimately win a 2nd title in Bill Self's run that he and their program so very much deserve. This program has been among the best for such a long time, despite having few true five-star recruits compared to other programs (granted, it hasn't been barren). They have come close, but also achingly far when they should've been closer. But they finally did it - in historic fashion with the comeback. The Jayhawks made history, capping a historical tournament, from a historic run by a 15 seed, to a historic final moment for Coach K, to history in the title game. It was beautiful, and better yet that Kansas was the final team standing.
