UNC and Kansas will play for NCAA national championship after Tar Heels’ win over Duke
North Carolina will face Kansas in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game for the second time in program history.
The Jayhawks advanced by beating Villanova 81-65 in Saturday night’s first semifinal game. The Tar Heels took care of rival Duke, 81-77, to reach the title game.
Carolina won its first NCAA title in 1957 by beating a Kansas squad led by Wilt Chamberlain, 54-53, in triple overtime.
UNC leads the overall series with Kansas 6-5. The teams have met six times in the NCAA tournament with the Jayhawks holding a 4-2 advantage including three straight wins.
Kansas prevented a possible Carolina-Duke matchup in the 1991 NCAA title game, when coach Roy Williams guided an upset of his mentor Dean Smith in the Final Four.
Smith and the Heels returned the favor in the 1993 NCAA semifinal game played in New Orleans, as UNC went on to capture its second title under the legendary coach.
The last time the two teams met in the Final Four was in 2008, when Kansas jumped out to a big lead early and withstood a Carolina rally before coasting to an 84-66 win.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 11:10 PM.