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Recap from NCAA championship: Kansas basketball wins national title in historic comeback

Zack Creglow and Jordan Guskey, Topeka Capital-Journal
·5 min read

NEW ORLEANS — Wow.

You'll see why here.

Ballgame: Kansas 72-69

Best comeback in NCAA title game history.

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3:45 in second half: Jayhawks up by 4

Armando Bacot is going to the line. This one is going to down to final minute, and perhaps the final possession.

Great basketball in the second half.

7:02 in second half: Remy 3 gives KU slight lead

Remy in the corner again. 60-57.

10:15 in second half: Kansas has taken this over

Remy 3-pointer from the corner. Jalen Wilson and-1 off the break. 56-50.

Reminder: Kansas is on 31-10 run in second half.

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10:53 in second half: We've got a tie ballgame

Ochai Agbaji just finished off an and-1 and we are tied at 50.

12:41 in second half: We've got a game

Buckle in, we've got a game.

Christian Braun just finished a beautiful 2-on-1 as Kansas is on a 12-1 run in the second half. That 15-point halftime lead for UNC is now a 46-45 lead.

15:40 in second half: Amazing what finishing on the break does

Welcome back, Kansas.

The Jayhawks are attacking on the break … and finishing. Those missed bunnies in the first half? Those are falling now. The result? 45-37 under with Jalen Wilson going to line to finish and-1 at the under-16 timeout.

Jordan Guskey's halftime analysis

Jordan Guskey is at the game in New Orleans. Here's his analysis from the first half:

This is as poor a time as any for Kansas to be struggling the way it is on both ends of the floor. Defensively, it hasn't seemed to be able to find an answer for North Carolina junior forward/center Armando Bacot — who already has a double-double. Offensively, the Jayhawks are missing way too many attempts so close to the basket, super-senior guard Remy Martin has been too quick to go up for jumpers and he's missed too many of them, and senior guard Ochai Agbaji hasn't been as assertive as his team needs him to be in this moment.

When Kansas opened the game on a run, it looked as if this game could resemble the Villanova game coach Bill Self and company just won earlier in the Final Four. Instead, North Carolina both found its way back into the game and took control. It's a tall task, for the Jayhawks to recover from this one.

Halftime: North Carolina 40, Kansas 25

Welp.

2:23 in first half: Kansas is all out of sorts

Missing lay-ups. Multiple times. Fouling 3-point shooters. Turnovers. Allowing second-chance points.

Sixteen unanswered by North Carolina. 38-22 UNC.

KU needs some urgency ASAP.

3:46 in first half: North Carolina takes control

The good news: Armando Bacot just picked up his second foul on a drive by Jalen Wilson.

The bad news: UNC has broken the game open and leads by 10 with just under four left in the first half.

The finish to the first half will be big. Kansas obviously wants to tighten this up again

5:05 in first half: Brady Manek gives UNC 6-point lead

The Kansas defense got the Jayhawks back in a tie with UNC, but then Brady Manek knocked down two 3-pointers to break open a 6-point advantage.

After the last one, a wide-open make, Bill Self immediately call timeout.

Big five minutes of play here to close the half.

7:53 in first half: North Carolina making its run

UNC has taken its biggest lead, 22-18, at the under-8 break in action. You can really tell North Carolina's Armando Bacot is impacting the game on the defensive end.

A lot of misses at the rim for Kansas halfway through the first half (only shooting 32 percent as a team).

10:24 in first half: Remy Martin hits first shot — a banked-in 3-pointer

It's been Remy Martin's NCAA Tournament. After slow start by the dynamo, Martin nailed a banked-in 3-pointer to give Kansas a four-point advantage.

While I typed this, UNC comes back with two makes and has it tied at 18-all.

10:45 in first half: Defense, defense, defense

Good pace early on. Not a lot of shot-making in last six minutes.

Kansas to start: 6-for-16 shooting. Meanwhile, UNC is 4-for-17.

Jayhawks leading 15-12 at the break in action, with North Carolina heading to the line for two.

13:46 in first half: Remy Martin makes first appearance

North Carolina began to commit itself to getting the ball inside to Armando Bacot and chipped away at the early Kansas lead.

Now Remy Martin has just checked in for the first time.

11-9 Kansas.

16:46 in first half: Kansas going right at Armando Bacot

Slight break in action as North Carolina's Brady Manek shakes off sharp elbow from McCormack — looked very unintentional. Early on, you can tell Kansas is going at standout UNC big man Armando Bacot.

Bacot was hobbled in UNC's Final Four victory, if you recall. 9-3 Kansas early.

18:30 in first half: Kansas explodes out the gates

Kansas won the tip and Ochai Agbaji drilled a 3-pointer off a dribble hand-off and David McCormack hit a shot on the following offensive possession.

To follow that, Jalen Wilson nailed two free throws. Three possessions. 7-zip lead.

Pregame: Here's your starters

Hello, all. Starters are being announced now.

Here they are:

Here's a look at our previous coverage:

Stay tuned to the Topeka Capital-Journal for the latest news and analysis on the Kansas basketball team's NCAA Tournament run.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: NCAA championship recap: KU basketball wins national title over UNC