A second big second half comeback

Twice Kansas took care of business. In the huge second half turnaround against 10th-seeded Miami in the Midwest Regional final, the lone top-seeded Jayhawks charged out of their locker room with one thought in mind, and that was to erase the 15-point deficit and race past the Hurricanes by overwhelming them, 76-50.

Next came Monday night‘s Division I championship versus 8th-seeded but red-hot North Carolina. Down 40-25 at the intermission, it was another big burst out of the locker room by 4-point favorite Kansas and ended in its fourth national title via the 72-69 route on Caesars renovated Superdome court in New Orleans before an overflow crowd.

The comeback versus Miami was quick and over with in no time, but this time it went down to the final buzzer and was a double gift, one for the Big 12 champions themselves and another for head coach Bill Self in the finale of the 34-6 campaign that was his second NCAA championship.

“This one was for Coach Self,” said Jayhawks’ big man David McCormack, the leading scorer who made the last two baskets of the wild turnabout. “And that’s what he deserved after sticking with us throughout the season, and it didn’t matter what the score was, he was always there for us as he was in his locker room talk at the break. The rest was up to us and then we wanted to lift him up with the championship trophy.”

McCormack and Jalen Wilson paved the way with 15 points each, Christian Braun tallied 10 of his dozen points in the second half surge. and transfer Remy Martin added 11 of his 14 points over the final 20 minutes. It was the biggest comeback in national championship history, surpassing the 1963 title game when Loyola of Chicago overcame a 15-point gap to edge Cincinnati, 60-58, at the buzzer.

The star of that Windy City five was New York City’s Butch Lee, whose son, Matthew, was the starting point guard for the Saint Peter’s University 15th-seed from Jersey City that upset in order, 2nd-seeded Kentucky, 7th-seeded Murray State, and 3rd-seeded Purdue before being ousted by North Carolina. Butch Lee was at each game, recalled the past that included the championship contest, and said he was proud of his son engineering the Peacocks offense.

But the biggest stage of college ball belonged to Kansas.

“We got locked in as a family,” Self said after his little dance was followed by lifting the trophy and passing it around to his players and their cheerleaders, “and that’s what we do. We overcame the odds, we overcame adversity, and we were just built for this. Terrific bunch to coach.”

McCormack scored the go-ahead bucket from close range with 1:21 remaining, then another at the 22-second mark to put the Jayhawks ahead by three. The Tar Heels, under first-year head coach Hubert Davis, who played under retired head coach Roy Williams at Chapel Hill, missed their final four shots that included a desperation 3 from Caleb Love that fell short at the buzzer, and over the final 20 minutes, couldn’t find an answer for KU’s impressive rally that outscored UNC 47-29 in the second half.

“No doubt I’m disappointed,” Davis said, “but I’m still proud of my guys after turning things around from a sub-par start in the tourney to hang around despite the amazing surge by (Bill) Self’s team after halftime. We played well, but just not good enough although we did get to the final night and deserve credit for that.”

No doubt they do, but it was the Jayhawks winning the title for the first time since then-head coach Larry Brown behind All-America Danny Manning in what was called the “Miracle” triumph over Oklahoma in the 1988 final. North Carolina has won the big prize six times and certainly gave it a genuine try this time in trying to join 1985 Villanova as the second 15th-seed to win the championship.

But the Tar Heels shot 11-for-40 over the second half after Kansas couldn’t buy a basket in the late first half after Carolina ran over and around it during a 16-0 run.

But once out of the locker room for the second half, the Jayhawks started trapping and pressing more, throwing UNC out of sync and getting to the paint more. The Tar Heels’ big man Armando Bacot, playing on an injured ankle from the classic semifinal win over ACC and arch-rival Duke in the Blue Devils’ long-time head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game on the sidelines, still turned in 15 points and scrubbed the boards for 15 rebounds and gave out four assists, while Brady Manek, a transfer from Oklahoma, contributed 14 and J.D. Davis had 12.

Yes, there was quite a difference in the first and second haves, but it still came down to the final buzzer. It didn’t make it and the celebrating belonged to Self and company.