The US has two new college basketball champions. Last night, Kansas held off a strong effort by North Carolina to become the NCAA men’s champions. And on Sunday, South Carolina beat Connecticut for the NCAA women’s title.
Kansas 72 – North Carolina 69
The #8 North Carolina Tar Heels brought a strong game to the NCAA finals match, but it wasn’t quite enough to defeat the #1 Kansas Jayhawks. Though many people expected the Jayhawks to completely control the game, that didn’t happen.
With nine minutes left in the first half, the score was tied. But then North Carolina went on a streak, scoring 16 points straight, giving the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the night. North Carolina ended the half leading by 15 points, 40 – 25.
In the first half, North Carolina went on a streak, ending the half leading by 15 points, 40 – 25. Center Armando Bacot (below, right) was a big part of that effort. But an ankle injury took him out at an important moment at the end of the game.
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Kansas came out hard in the second half, with Christian Braun helping the Jayhawks cut the lead. In about 10 minutes of play, Kansas out-scored North Carolina 31 points to 10, taking the lead 56-50.
The score see-sawed back and forth after that, with each team finding a way to bounce back.
In the final minute, Kansas was up by one. North Carolina center Armando Bacot was driving to the basket when his injured ankle went out on him, and he fell to the floor in pain. With Bacot out, Kansas scored another goal, going up by 3.
With seconds left to play, North Carolina had a chance to tie things up, but threw the ball away. But after Dajuan Harris stepped out of bounds, the Tar Heels got a second chance with 4.3 seconds left on the clock. Caleb Love got a last-second 3-pointer off, but it missed the mark.
Kansas has not only won their fourth NCAA Championship, they have also set the record for the biggest comeback in a championship game. Christian Braun (center) was a big part of that comeback.
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Kansas has not only won their fourth NCAA Championship, they have also set the record for the biggest comeback in a championship game.
South Carolina 64 – University of Connecticut 49
On Sunday, the #1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the #2 ranked UConn (University of Connecticut) Huskies to win the 2022 NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championships. The Gamecocks, who only lost two games all season, got out to a strong lead early on and never gave it up.
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, who’s this year’s national Player of the Year, was a hard force to stop on the court. Though the Huskies held her to just 11 points, Boston yanked down 16 rebounds. Rebounds turned out to be a big part of the game, with the Gamecocks pulling down 49 rebounds to the Huskies’ 21.
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South Carolina beat UConn to win the 2022 NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championships. South Carolina’s Destanni Henderson (#3, above) scored 26 points. UConn’s Paige Bueckers (right), played well, but couldn’t stop the Gamecocks.
The Huskies fought hard to come back from behind, powered by a strong effort from last year’s Player of the Year, Paige Bueckers. In the third quarter, the Huskies went on a 10-point scoring streak, and came within six points of tying the game up.
But South Carolina, led by Destanni Henderson, held them off, and worked quickly to open their lead back up. Henderson finished the night with 26 points – her highest scoring night ever. One huge difference in the scoring came from the free throw line, where the Gamecocks scored 17 points to just 1 by the Huskies.
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Led by coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina has now won two NCAA championships. That makes Haley the first Black Division I college coach – men’s or women’s – to win more than one NCAA title. Above, South Carolina celebrates after winning.
Led by coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina has now won two NCAA championships. That makes Haley the first Black Division I college coach – men’s or women’s – to win more than one NCAA title. UConn still holds the overall record. It has won a total of 11 NCAA titles.