|
They both will have an opportunity to add to their
accomplishments when they meet for the national championship on
Monday night in New Orleans.
The Jayhawks (33-6) are seeking their fourth national
championship, which would break a tie for seventh most with
Villanova, which they beat 81-65 in Saturday's first national
semifinal. They were the only No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament
to advance to the Final Four.
The Tar Heels (29-9) have the third-most titles as they seek No.
7 in coach Hubert Davis' first season.
"Both teams are as blue as you can get when you talk about blue
bloods," Kansas coach Bill Self said Sunday.
These blue bloods have connections beyond just their historical
success.
Legendary Tar Heels coach Dean Smith, who led UNC to
championships in 1982 and 1993, played on Kansas' 1952 national
championship team.
Roy Williams, who attended UNC and was an assistant under Smith
there, coached the Jayhawks for 15 seasons before returning to
coach the Tar Heels for 18 seasons, winning championships in
Chapel Hill in 2005, 2009 and 2017 before retiring a year ago.
Self has brought Kansas to the Final Four for a fourth time, but
he has just one national championship (2008) to show for it.
"At most places winning one national championship would be quite
an accomplishment," Self said. "I think as many good teams as
we've had, one's not enough."
Self noted the disparity in how these teams utilize 3-pointers.
The Tar Heels' Caleb Love (18 of 50) and Brady Manek (19 of 40)
have combined to attempt just one fewer 3-pointer than the
entire Kansas team during the NCAA Tournament.
UNC (10 of 26) outscored Duke (5 of 22) by 15 points from beyond
the arc in an 81-77 victory in the second semifinal.
But the Jayhawks' focus on shot quality more than volume.
They're making 40.6 percent of their 3-pointers in the
tournament, and on Saturday they matched Villanova's 13 treys
while attempting seven fewer (24 to Villanova's 31). The Tar
Heels are shooting 36 percent on 3-pointers.
"We have to make 3s," North Carolina coach Davis said of his
team, a No. 8 seed in the tournament. "But the beauty for us is
that we have a number of guys that can shoot 3s. It's not just
one 3-point shooter. We've got a number of guys that can shoot
the ball.
"Our emphasis is to attack the basket. First and foremost, we
want to feed the ball down to Armando (Bacot), plain and simple,
period, the end. We want him to dominate down low in the post."
Bacot left Saturday's game briefly because of an ankle injury
but finished the game. Davis said Bacot, who had 11 points and
21 rebounds against Duke, would participate in the Tar Heels'
"very limited" practice Sunday and play Monday.
Bacot will be matched against David McCormack, who had 25 points
and nine rebounds against Villanova.
Kansas didn't know its opponent until after 10 p.m. Saturday,
the same time that UNC knew it would be playing in the title
game.
"Preparation is important," Self said Sunday, "but let's not kid
ourselves. We're going to practice for 30 minutes today and
Carolina is going to practice for 30 minutes today. And you're
not going to change a lot what you're doing just for this one
game."
--Field Level Media
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
