Kansas uses second-half onslaught to storm past Miami, into Final Four
Kansas flipped the switch, and it did so emphatically.
The Jayhawks, the final No. 1 seed remaining in this year’s men's NCAA tournament, trailed No. 10 seed Miami by six points at halftime of Sunday’s Midwest regional final in Chicago. That didn't last.
By the midpoint of the second half, Kansas had a 12-point lead. The Jayhawks stormed out of the second-half gates with a 25-7 onslaught and it was too much for the Hurricanes to overcome.
In the end, it was a 76-50 victory for Kansas, who will head to the Final Four for the 16th time in program history and the fourth time during Bill Self’s tenure in Lawrence. The Jayhawks are two wins away from their first national championship since 2008.
Miami, who was looking to become the second No. 10 seed to reach the Final Four, saw its stellar postseason run come to an end.
Miami controlled play early, Kansas dominated second half
Miami was the better team early on, riding the hot jump-shooting of Kameron McGusty. During one stretch of the first half, McGusty scored 12 of his team’s 17 points. Meanwhile, Kansas struggled at the free-throw line (3/9) and from beyond the arc (0/5) in the first half.
Miami closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 35-29 lead into the locker room, but things would change quickly.
To start the second half, Kansas picked up its intensity on the defensive end, causing an uncharacteristic number of turnovers from Miami’s veteran guards. Those turnovers allowed Kansas to attack Miami in transition and quickly flip that halftime deficit into an advantage.
Kansas opened the second half on a 19-5 run to jump out to a 48-40 lead. Miami had no answers and that lead only grew.
That lead ballooned to as large as 26 points as Kansas continued to attack and Miami’s jumpers stopped falling. Kansas would outscore the Hurricanes 47-15 in the second half while limiting Miami to 21.4% from the field. At the same time, Kansas connected on 16 of its 27 second-half shots, a 59.3% clip.
Kansas saw contributions from across the board, including from All-American Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji scored only six points in the first half on 3-of-5 shooting. He seemed unusually passive at times, but found a rhythm in the second half. He finished with 18 points and was one of three Jayhawks in double figures. Big man David McCormack added 15, including eight that came early in the second half. Christian Braun also pitched in 12 points while Mitch Lightfoot and Remy Martin scored nine points apiece.
On the Miami side, McGusty and Isaiah Wong scored 18 and 15 points, respectively. The rest of the team scored 17 points combined. The Hurricanes also had 14 turnovers and were outrebounded by a 41-29 margin. On top of that, Miami had just seven assists as a team. Kansas had 18 assists on its 29 made field goals.
Next, Kansas will face Villanova in the Final Four. The No. 2 seed out of the South, Villanova outlasted No. 5 Houston on Saturday to get to its third Final Four since 2016.
