By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After Duke and Villanova punched in their tickets to the 2022 NCAA Final Four, Kansas and North Carolina advanced to the last stage of the postseason clinching respective Elite Eight wins Sunday evening.
The Jayhawks outscored Miami, 47-15, in the second half to secure the win, 76-50. It was the end of the road for Greek Filippos Gkogkos and Dutch Thomas Oosterbroek, both limited to brief fruitless showings for the Hurricanes in the Midwest Region Final held in Chicago.
Despite trailing by six points at the break, Kansas reached the Final Four for the 16th time. Ochai Agbaji starred recording 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. David McCormack and Christian Braun added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
The Tar Heels eliminated the first-ever 15-seed of the Elite Eight Saint Peter’s cruising to the 69-49 victory in Philadelphia. Armando Bacot posted a monster double-double of 20 points and 22 rebounds. Brady Manek threw in 19 more points.
Moving March Madness to the Final Four in New Orleans, Kansas will take on Villanova and the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina will be expanded into the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Both games are scheduled for April 2. The winning sides making out the championship game will meet a couple of days later, April 4.
Sitting third on the list of the programs with the most NCAA championships, UNC will have the opportunity to close in on UCLA’s 11 titles and Kentucky’s eight making a bid for its own 7th.
Mike Krzyzewski’s 13th Final Four appearance can be combined with the sixth title for both the legendary coach and Duke.
Villanova and Kansas have both won three NCAA championships with the Wildcats being the most recent triumphant among the newest Final Four field thanks to the 2018 title.
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