By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the rival colleges, North Carolina beat Duke, 81-77, Saturday night. Besides delivering the career-ending loss to Mike Krzyzewski in the biggest ever game against the Blue Devils, the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four championship game to face Kansas on Monday.
“It’s not about me,” commented Krzyzewski following the game at New Orleans, “Especially right now. I’ve said my entire career that I wanted my seasons to end where my team was either crying tears of joy or tears of sorrow. Because then you knew that they gave everything.”
Italian Paolo Banchero led the Blue Devils. He posted a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with two assists and two blocks. Trevor Keels logged 19 points in the Final Four Semifinals loss.
Caleb Love dropped a game-high 28 points, including a clutch three-pointer in the back-and-forth contest. R.J. Davis put in 18 points, Brady Manek added 14 points, and Armando Bacot produced an 11-point, 21-rebound double-double before fouling out.
Kansas rolled Villanova, 81-65, to progress to the championship game. David McCormack connected five triples en route to a game-high 25 points and fellow senior Ochai Agbaji threw in 21 more points. For the Wildcats, Collin Gillespie registered a team-high 17 points.
On to the Final, North Carolina will go for its seventh national championship to close in on UCLA and Kentucky leading the list of colleges with the most titles, 11 and eight, respectively. The Jayhawks will make their own bid for a fourth NCAA championship.
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