The championship game of the

2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the ...

was contested on April 4, 2022, at the

Caesars Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana. The game featured the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

and the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. This was a rematch of the 1957 national championship game, in which undefeated North Carolina defeated Kansas by a 54–53 score in triple-overtime to win their first-ever national championship. Kansas narrowly defeated North Carolina to claim their first national championship since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. The victory marked Kansas's sixth national championship, and their second under head coach

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...

. Trailing 38–22 near the end of the first half, Kansas rallied from a 16-point deficit for the largest comeback win in the championship game's history. The Jayhawks'

Ochai Agbaji Ochai Young Agbaji (born April 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a senior at the University of Kansas, Agbaji was named a consensus first-team All-Amer ...

was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 2022 tournament.

Participants

It was the second national championship game between the schools after North Carolina's triple-overtime victory over Kansas in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina was led by first-year head coach

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching care ...

, a former Tar Heels player who took over for Roy Williams, who also coached at Kansas and had recently retired. The Tar Heels were on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament invite with an 18–8 record in mid-February, having suffered double-digit losses to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Wake Forest and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. After qualifying for the tournament as a No. 8 seed, they advanced to the title game with wins over Marquette, in the most lopsided NCAA tournament game between a No. 8 seed and a No. 9 seed;

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

; the defending national champion Baylor; the tournament's

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

, Saint Peter's; and their biggest rival, Duke. Guard

Caleb Love Caleb Khristopher Love (born September 27, 2001) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Arizona Wildcats. High school career Love attended Christian Brothers College High School in ...

scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half against Duke. Earlier in the tournament in the Sweet 16, he scored 27 of his game-high 30 in the second half in their win over

. Forward

Armando Bacot Armando Linwood Bacot Jr. (born March 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He holds the program records for double-doubl ...

entered the game averaging over 16 points and 13 rebounds per game, and guard

was expected to match up well defensively with Kansas guard

. The Tar Heels were attempting to become the second No. 8 seed to win the tournament, joining Villanova in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. Davis was seeking to become the first Division I men's basketball coach to win a national championship in his first full season. He was the tenth first-year coach to lead a team to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas was coached by

, who reached the

for the fourth time in his career. They had seven players returning from their 2019–20 squad, which was 28–3 and odds-on favorite to win the national title before the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, and led the

in scoring and was voted the Big 12 Player of the Year. The Jayhawks duo of

David McCormack David Liam McCormack (born 25 October 1968) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He is best known for voicing the character Bandit Heeler in the Peabody Award-winning animated children's series '' Bluey'' and as the front ...

and Mitch Lightfoot provided production on the inside, while guard Remy Martin emerged during the Big 12 tournament, after having struggled with a nagging injury throughout the season. Kansas received the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional. On their way to the championship game, the Jayhawks defeated

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

, Creighton,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, and Villanova. Martin was the team's leading scorer for three games during the tournament. After defeating Providence in the Sweet 16, Kansas passed Kentucky for the most wins in Division I men's college basketball history.

Starting lineups

Game summary

Kansas won the

jump ball A jump ball is a method used to begin or resume play in basketball. It is similar to a face-off in ice hockey and field lacrosse and a ball-up in Australian rules football. Two opposing players attempt to gain control of the ball after an offic ...

to begin the game and opened the scoring 21 seconds later when

made a

three-point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

. The Jayhawks began the game on a 7–0 run with

's jumper and a pair of

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s by

Jalen Wilson Jalen Derale Wilson (born November 4, 2000) is an American professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete wi ...

. North Carolina's first points of the game were made by

Brady Manek Brady Reece Manek (born September 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Leones de Ponce (basketball), Leones de Ponce of Baloncesto Superior Nacional, on loan from BC Žalgiris, Žalgiris Kaunas. He played college basketball f ...

, who made a three-point shot with two and a quarter minutes elapsed. The Tar Heels made up ground and tied the game at 11 points apiece with 13:30 on the clock with a

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, "laying" the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump ...

by Leaky Black, free throws by

, and another layup by

. A free throw by Bacot as part of a

three-point play In basketball, a three-point play is usually achieved by scoring a two-point field goal, being fouled in the act of shooting, and scoring one point on the subsequent free throw. Before the three-point field goal was created in the 1960s for profess ...

gave North Carolina their first lead, 12–11, but a pair of field goals shortly thereafter by

Christian Braun Christian Nicolas Braun ( ; born April 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Kansas native, Braun won Mr. Kansas Basketball in 2019 and played collegiat ...

and Mitch Lightfoot gave the edge back to Kansas. Love's three-point shot with 9:21 remaining tied the contest back at 18 points each, and the teams traded field goals for the next three minutes, when the score tied again at 22–22. Manek's three-pointer a few seconds later began a large run for the Tar Heels which saw them score 16 unanswered points. Leading 38–22 with 2:23 until halftime after a pair of free throws made by Bacot, Agbaji made a free throw of his own to end Kansas's scoring drought. From there, Agbaji and

Puff Johnson Ewanya "Puff" Johnson (December 10, 1972 – June 24, 2013) was an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born in Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situat ...

traded field goals in the last thirty seconds of the half, giving North Carolina a 40–25 lead at halftime. North Carolina began the second half with possession of the ball, but the Jayhawks' offense got them off to a 6–0 run. Love made a three-pointer for North Carolina, pushing the Tar Heels' lead back up to 12 points. The teams traded field goals before Kansas went on another run, this time scoring eight unanswered points by way of Braun, Wilson, Agbaji, and Harris Jr., cutting the lead to four points. Bacot made a free throw to end North Carolina's scoring drought, but a jump shot from McCormack and a layup from Braun narrowed the lead to one point. With 10:53 remaining, Agbaji made a free throw as part of a three-point play to tie the game at 50 points apiece, and a three-pointer by Remy Martin gave Kansas the lead thirty seconds later. Another three-point play by Wilson pushed the Jayhawks' advantage to six points, capping a 31–10 run. North Carolina responded over the next two minutes, evening the score at 57 with 8:17 to play. A pair of three-pointers by Martin and Wilson for Kansas, and two layups from Johnson for North Carolina, kept Kansas' lead at two points entering the game's final five minutes. The score evened at 65 following two free throws by Manek, and North Carolina took a 69–68 lead with 1:41 remaining following a layup by Manek. After McCormack made a go-ahead jumper at 1:21, Love had his shot blocked out-of-bounds on a drive. After the ensuing inbound, Carolina missed a shot, but the Tar Heels got the offensive rebound. Bacot received the ball and was driving to the basket when he turned his ankle and fell to the ground in pain (due to the floor giving out). He turned the ball over, then limped off the court and was not able to return. Manek then guarded McCormack instead of Bacot, who was a better defender, and the Jayhawks' big man made a jumper over Manek to increase the lead to three. The Tar Heels missed their final four shots, including Love's desperation three-pointer at the final buzzer. The Jayhawks won 72–69, outscoring the Tar Heels 47–29 in the second half. The 16-point deficit that Kansas overcame was the largest ever to win a men's national championship game, surpassing the previous record of 15 points by Loyola-Chicago in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

. The Jayhawks 15-point hole at halftime was the largest second-half comeback in a championship, eclipsing

's 10-point rally in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Agbaji finished with 12 points and was named the NCAA Tournament MOP. McCormack and Wilson led the Jayhawks with 15 points each. Braun scored 10 of his 12 in the second half, when Martin also had 11 of his 14. Bacot ended with 15 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first to record a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

in all six tournament games. North Carolina made just 11 of its 40 shots in the second half. This was Kansas's fourth national championship in school history and the second under head coach

Media coverage

The championship game was televised in the United States by TBS, with

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

and

truTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

simulcasting the game.

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

provided

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

, while

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. Early life and playing years Born William Joseph Raftery in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Kearny, Raftery grew up i ...

and

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

provided

color commentary A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

Tracy Wolfson Tracy Wolfson (born March 17, 1975) is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is the lead sideline reporter for the NFL on CBS. Early life Wolfson grew up in Congers, New York, and attended Clarkstown High School North, in New City, New ...

served as the

sideline reporter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...

ESPN International ESPN International is a family of Broadcasting of sports events, sportscasting and production networks around the world. It was begun in 1983, is operated by ESPN Inc. and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Current operations Canada ESPN Int ...

had the international rights to the championship game and the Final Four. It was called by Brian Custer and

Jay Bilas Jay Scot Bilas (born December 24, 1963) is an American college basketball analyst who currently works for ESPN. Bilas is a former professional basketball player and coach who played for and served as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke ...

. The game was the third-most-viewed college basketball telecast in cable television history, just one spot behind the

matchup between North Carolina and Duke that was played two days prior. The telecast recorded an average of 18.1 million viewers, up 4 percent from the previous season's championship game.

References

External links

2022 NCAA Division I Men's Final Four
{{2022 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball navbox

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game College basketball tournaments in Louisiana Basketball competitions in New Orleans