Kansas Jayhawks will play for NCAA title after beating Villanova Wildcats in Final Four
Kansas’ men’s basketball team will play for the national title for the first time since 2012 and third time in the Bill Self era on Monday night at Caesars Superdome.
Ochai Agbaji hit six three-pointers in seven tries and scored 21 points while David McCormack scored 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting (5-of-6 from the free throw line) and grabbed nine rebounds as the Jayhawks, the No. 1 seeded team in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional, rolled to a 19-point first-half lead and downed old nemesis Villanova, No. 2 seed in the South, 81-65 in a Final Four semifinal on Saturday in the Big Easy.
Christian Braun added 10 points and dished five assists, while Jalen Wilson had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (33-6), who will meet North Carolina, the No. 8 seed in the East, at 8:20 p.m. Monday (TBS) for the NCAA title.
KU last played for the crown in 2012, losing to Kentucky 67-59 in New Orleans. Self’s Jayhawks won the NCAA title in 2008, downing Memphis 75-68 in overtime in San Antonio.
Also, Dajuan Harris went for nine points (he hit three threes), while Remy Martin had three points and five rebounds. Mitch Lightfoot had two points and four boards.
Collin Gillespie scored 17 points (5-of-8 from three) and Brandon Slater added 16 points and Caleb Daniels 13 on Saturday for Villanova, which clobbered KU 95-79 in a 2018 Final Four semifinal in San Antonio. Nova also beat KU 64-59 in the 2016 Elite Eight in Louisville.
KU hit 53.7% percent of its shots overall (13 of 34 from three and 10 of 12 from the line) in winning its 10th straight game. Villanova, which had its nine-game win streak snapped, hit 38.6% of its shots. The Wildcats went 13-of-31 from three and 8-of-10 from the line.
Big swing for Jayhawks (3:31 left in regulation)
A crucial part of the game took place right after Villanova trimmed its game-high deficit of 19 points all the way down to six (64-58) at 5:51.
But then David McCormack scored off a hook shot, Christian Braun hit a two, and after Jeraine Samuels made one of two free throws, Braun drilled a long three and KU led 71-59.
KU clings to lead (7:44 left in regulation)
KU maintained a 64-55 lead at 7:44 when a media timeout was called. David McCormack had hit two free throws to bring the lead from seven to nine.
He had 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting at this point of the game, while Ochai Agbaji had 18 points off his six three-point makes without a miss. Nova at this point had three players in double figures with Collin Gillespie’s 17 leading the way. Nova was 11 of 25 from three at this point; KU 11 of 20.
Ochai 6 for 6 from three (10:25 left in regulation)
Ochai Agbaji sinks his sixth three-pointer of the game in as many times, increasing KU’s narrow lead to 58-47 at 11:38. David McCormack slammed a dunk to give the Jayhawks a 62-50 advantage at 10:25, Nova coach Jay Wright calls a time out.
Nova cuts lead to 8 (14:07 left in regulation)
Suddenly, after the TV time out, Nova’s Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels make threes and cut the gap to 50-42 at 14:07. KU had two turnovers in that short spurt.
KU coach Bill Self was forced to call time at 14:07 with KU up by eight.
KU starts second half hot (15:29 left in regulation)
KU expands its 11-point halftime lead to 16 points early in the second half. Ochai Agbaji hit a three, moving to 5-of-5 from beyond the arc on the night after a David McCormack bucket (to give him 15 points like Agbaji). Dajuan Harris drilled his second three of the night. KU led 50-34. A Nova inside bucket made the score 50-36 at the first TV timeout of the second half.
Jayhawks lead 40-29 at halftime
KU leads 40-29 at halftime after a Mitch Lightfoot basket in the final minute.
The Jayhawks are shooting 48.4% (15 for 31) and 50% from three (7 for 14). Villanova is shooting 33.3% from the field (10 for 30) and from three (5 for 15).
David McCormack, who finished the first half on the bench with two fouls, leads the Jayhawks with 13 points. Ochai Agbaji has 12 but none since midway through the first half. Jalen Wilson has seven points for KU.
Collin Gillespie led the way for Nova with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Nova makes a run and KU’s lead shrinks (1:23 left in first half)
KU led by as many as 19 but a 10-0 Villanova run cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 38-29 as halftime approached. KU has missed its last four three-point attempts. David McCormack headed to the bench with two fouls.
KU doubles up Nova (6:02 left in first half)
Remy Martin and Jalen Wilson add three-pointers as KU is shooting 7 for 10 from behind the arc and has taken an 18-point lead on Villanova, 36-18, at the under-8 media timeout.
Agbaji still perfect as KU leads 19-8 (11:33 left in first half)
Ochai Agbaji hits two more threes and has four for the game in as many tries, good for 12 points overall as KU grabbed a 19-8 lead. McCormack has seven points (3-of-4 from the free-throw line), meaning two Jayhawks have taken care of all the scoring.
KU leads by 11 with Villanova shooting 3 of 10 to KU’s 6 of 10 mark.
Agbaji’s four threes showed perfect form, drawing nothing but net.
Jayhawks surge to 10-2 lead (15:28 remaining first half)
Kansas opens the Final Four semifinal with a 10-0 run. Ochai Agbaji made his first two three-point attempts and David McCormack hit two inside shots in the early moments.
KU’s Dajuan Harris stole the ball twice from Collin Gillespie as Villanova had four early turnovers and opened 1 of 4 from the field. KU hit 4 of its first 6 shots and led 10-2 at the 15:28 TV time out.
KU-Villanova live stats
Live stats and updated game scores are available on NCAA.com.
KU golfer sings national anthem
Hanna Hawks, a sophomore on the KU women’s golf team, was chosen as the Jayhawks’ representative in a quartet of student-athletes who performed the national anthem before the Final Four games tipped off.
Game previews and how to watch
First up, here’s KU beat writer Jesse Newell’s Quick Scout for tonight’s KU-Villanova matchup: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Villanova Wildcats has this recent betting trend.
Jesse’s beat partner on the Jayhawks, Gary Bedore, has the lineups for tonight, TV details and more here.
Star sports columnist Vahe Gregorian wrote this today about the significance of this game for Kansas.
After last weekend’s Elite Eight victory, Sam McDowell wrote about how an unexpected halftime talk by Bill Self sparked Kansas’ second-half turnaround.
And here’s some insightful analysis from Taylor Eldridge, our Wichita Eagle beat writer for the Shockers: Kansas Jayhawks must solve this unique Villanova skill.
Finally, a podcast, our latest Sportsbeat KC offering led by the indomitable Blair Kerkhoff, examining how Bill Self-Jay Wright/KU-Nova matchups have produced elite results through the years.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Kansas Jayhawks will play for NCAA title after beating Villanova Wildcats in Final Four."
