By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
North Carolina had all the control at halftime of the national championship game against Kansas, but the latter made an incredible comeback to grab the close 72-69 win and secure its fourth NCAA title.
Kansas made a comeback from being down 15 at halftime and that marks the biggest comeback in the national championship game ever.
David McCormack was the person who stepped up as the leader of Kansas and sparked the comeback as well as closed it off with crucial shots whenever the team needed it.
He finished with 15 points but those included a jump hook to give Kansas a one-point lead with 80 seconds left and another one to push the lead to three with 22 seconds left.
North Carolina naturally had its chances to turn things around and survive the furious comeback but the nerves got to them. They missed multiple three-pointers in the final minute and lost the ball at a crucial point. To make things worse, Amando Bacot got injured at the one-minute mark and had to leave the game.
McCormack shot 7-15 from the field while also adding ten rebounds (three on offense), one steal, and a block. But his impact went beyond just the numbers and what he did on the court. His attitude and mindset in the locker room at halftime, while being down 15, was what set up the squad for success.
“I was like, why are you smiling, dude? We’re down 15. He was telling me, keep your head up, keep going, we’ll be all right. I was like, man, I don’t know if I’ve ever been here before. Down 15 in a national championship game. I’ve definitely never been there,” McCormack’s teammate Christian Braun said.
McCormack definitely backed up those words on the court and he got help from Jalen Wilson who also scored 15 points followed by Remy Martin with 14, Ochai Agjabi and Braun with 12 each.
For North Carolina, Bacot and RJ Davis scored 15 each while Caleb Love and Brady Manek added 13 points each. bacon also grabbed 15 rebounds, becoming the first player in NCAA history with six double-doubles in one tournament.
However, at the end of the day, it was Agjabi to take home the Most Outstanding Player honors.