“They came out like bats out of hell…they just showed you what Kansas is all about” - Stephen A. Smith on Kansas’ mentality that led to the second-half comeback in the NCAA tournament final
At the conclusion of March Madness, the Kansas Jayhawks are the NCAA tournament champions thanks to a spectacular second-half comeback, which received praise from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
While some will credit the Jayhawks' comeback in the national championship game to the collapse of the North Carolina Tar Heels, a large part of the credit should go the Kansas and the performance of stars like Dave McCormack.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took time during "First Take" to give credit for the Jayhawks' performance in the second half of the NCAA tournament final.
"They came out like bats out of hell, forced like five turnovers in the first seven or eight minutes, went on a 31-10 run for crying out loud. They just showed you what Kansas is all about, they played in the second-half the way we anticipated they would play in the enite game and in North Carolina, sadly they didn't have the depth."
The run at the start of the second half was a critical part of the Jayhawks coming back and completing the largest comeback in the NCAA tournament championship game history.
Maybe down, sure.
𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐔𝐓 💪
#RockChalk x #NationalChampionship https://t.co/r7Iaegl4RB
The second-half comeback was part of a spectacular night for the Kansas Jayhawks, but the North Carolina Tar Heels were on the receiving end of the remarkable comeback. The Jayhawks won the game with their play, but UNC played a part in the defeat.
Stephen A. Smith on North Carolina's part in Kansas' win in the NCAA tournament
Stephen A. Smith spoke about what Kansas did to win the game against North Carolina, but the Tar Heels also allowed the Jayhawks to come back with their play, which Stephen A. Smith acknowledged.
"I think we looked at their talent and we said excuse me they've got some brothers that can play, there's no doubt about that, but they were absent the depth that they needed. They had to rely on their five."
One of the mottos of the NCAA tournament is to survive and advance, but the Tar Heels ran out of the ability to survive against the Jayhawks. While the five starters for UNC have been carrying the team all season, they were not enough in the second half, which Stephen A. Smith pointed out as part of the issue.
"Carolina didn't have the depth that they needed and Caleb Love who I saw, I said, coming into this game he had to have a big game, that was their shot."
The lack of depth and lack of success from Caleb Love were part of the reason the Jayhawks found success in the second half of the NCAA tournament final against the Tar Heels, as Stephen A. Smith highlighted.