NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kansas has claimed its fourth NCAA men’s basketball comeback by engineering the greatest second-half comeback in finals history.
The Jayhawks turned a 16-point, second-half deficit into a 72-69 victory over North Carolina. David McCormack scored the go-ahead bucket from close range with 1:21 left, then another at the 22-second mark to put the Jayhawks ahead by three. McCormack and Jalen Wilson led KU with 15 points each. Christian Braun scored 10 of his 12 in the second half and transfer Remy Martin had 11 of his 15 over the final 20 minutes.
Carolina had scored 16 straight points late in the first half to open a 40-25 advantage at the break, but top-seeded KU went on a 31-10 run over the opening 10 minutes of the second to take a six-point lead.
The Tar Heels went scoreless over the final 1:41 and missed their last four shots, including Caleb Love’s desperation 3 at the buzzer.
Armando Bacot provided 15 points and 15 rebounds for North Carolina to become the first player to record double-doubles in all six tournament games.
The Tar Heels were seeking their seventh national championship and could have joined the 1985 Villanova Wildcats as the only No. 8 seeds to win the title.
