"That was one of the best halves of basketball that Kansas has EVER played under Bill Self" - NCAA insider on Kansas Jayhawks punching their Final 4 ticket after beating Miami in March Madness
Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self has his team in another Final Four after a second-half blowout powered a dominant 75-60 win against the Miami Hurricanes.
Kansas, the last No. 1 seed remaining in the NCAA Tournament, trailed by six points at halftime but outscored 10th-seeded Miami 47-15 in the second half Sunday.
Kansas (31-6), ranked third, will face the Villanova Wildcats (30-7), ranked sixth, in the first national semifinal Saturday in New Orleans.
Miami (26-11), a No. 10 seed, was in position to continue its Cinderella run but instead suffered one of the biggest blowouts of this NCAA Tournament.
ROCK CHALK COMEBACK 😤
1-seed Kansas outscores 10-seed Miami by 32 in the second half to punch its ticket to the men's Final Four! https://t.co/SykEcn9ekL
The second half was one of Kansas' most dominant performances this season. According to CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein, it may have been one of the most dominant performances by Kansas under Self.
That was one of the best halves of basketball that Kansas has EVER played under Bill Self. Jayhawks outscored Miami 47-15 after halftime.
Kansas back to the Final Four to face Villanova next Saturday in New Orleans.
Calling the performance – accomplished in an Elite Eight game, no less – one of the best halves of Self's tenure is high praise. Self is one of the most accomplished coaches at one of the college basketball's most-storied programs. It's the fourth Final Four for Self in 19 seasons at KU.
He led the Jayhawks to the 2008 national title. He last had them to a Final Four in 2018, when they lost to eventual national champ Villanova 95-79.
Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks in the Final 4
The Kansas Jayhawks will be joined by in the Final Four by three the other elite programs.
Kansas, which has won three national championships, will face Villanova, which has also won three. The ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (32-6), who have won five championships, will face the unranked North Carolina Tar Heels (28-9), who have won six.
UNC is in its record 21st Final Four. Duke is in its 17th, with a record 13 of those under retiring legend Mike Krzyzewski. Kansas is in its 16th. Villanova is in its seventh.
Duke. North Carolina. Villanova. Kansas.
- Four of the last six national titles
- Seven of the last 13 national titles
- Three of the four winningest programs in history
- 61 combined Final Four appearances
- 17 combined national championships
The Big 12 champion Jayhawks will look to beat the Big East champion Wildcats to advance to the title game. After the most dominant win of the Elite Eight, momentum could be on their side.
The Final Four has been in New Orleans six times, and Kansas has made the Big Easy field each of the last four (1993, 2003, 2012 and this season).