The University of Kansas staged the biggest comeback in the history of the US college basketball national championship by defeating North Carolina in the final on Monday with a score of 72-69.
The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks trailed 40-25 at halftime against eighth-seeded North Carolina at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
But a terrific second-half performance saw Kansas rock North Carolina to claim a dramatic victory and the Final Four title.
David McCormack and Jalen Wilson dragged Kansas over the line with 15 points apiece while North Carolina was outscored 47-29 in an exciting second half.
Kansas had lost by 16 points at one stage and appeared headed for defeat against a North Carolina team that had been chasing a seventh title after victories in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.
But Kansas star McCormack revealed the Jayhawks had never given up hope despite a crushing halftime deficit.
“I was in the locker room at halftime smiling at my teammates, they thought I was crazy. I just said ‘Hey, we come here in the second half and have fun, do what we did to do what got us to this moment.’ McCormack said.
McCormack pushed Kansas to a 70-69 lead after grabbing a rebound with 1:16 remaining.and then added another 2-pointer to put the Jayhawks ahead 72-69 with 22.3 seconds left.
There was still time for North Carolina’s Caleb Love to attempt a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the ball deflected harmlessly away from the target as Kansas erupted in celebrations.
Kansas comeback eclipsed previous high mark from 1998when Kentucky overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat Utah.
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