The Kansas Jayhawks are headed to the national championship game in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The No. 1 Jayhawks dominated No. 2 Villanova in a 81-65 win in the Final Four matchup.
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Kansas got off to an extremely hot start thanks to Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack. Agbaji hit four 3s in the first nine minutes while McCormack made his presence known in the paint.
Kansas also set the tone early defensively, sending traps to Villanova sharpshooter Collin Gillespie. The Wildcats turned the ball over four times in the opening five minutes as Kansas jumped to a 38-19 lead.
The Jayhawks had a 7-for-10 clip at one point from 3-point range, but once the shot cooled off, Villanova went on a 10-2 run to trail 40-29 after one half.
McCormack and Agbaji combined for 25 first-half points, while Gillespie had 11 for the Wildcats.
Villanova senior guard Caleb Daniels led the charge early in the second half. His paint penetration opened scoring and passing lanes as the Wildcats eventually got the lead down to eight, then eventually six with six minutes remaining.
However, Kansas wing Christian Braun found a rhythm on offense after a quiet first half to help Agbaji and McCormack in the scoring column, and Villanova just didn’t have enough in the tank to stop the Jayhawks.
Braun’s ridiculous off-balance 3-pointer served as the dagger.
McCormack led all scorers with 25 points. He added nine rebounds while shooting 10 of 12 from the floor. Agbaji, a potential lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, finished with 21 points as he drilled 6 of 7 shots from deep. Agbaji made his first six 3s before missing his last attempt.
Kansas will now play the winner of No. 2 Duke and No. 8 North Carolina in the national championship game on Monday. The Jayhawks are looking to win the title for the first time since 2008.
