I come to you from the United Center for the final time this week/weekend. I had a great time here in Chicago, but I'm ready to get home for a few days and then make my way to New Orleans, La.
-- Truthfully, I wasn't really sure how this game was going to play out before tip. I knew that Kansas hadn't played its best game of the tournament yet and I knew that Miami was going to be a difficult matchup on Sunday. Basically, nothing that was going to happen earlier today would have been much of a surprise. I knew Kansas was more than capable of winning, but I also knew that Miami was good enough to advance to the Final Four.
-- For me, especially in the first half, the thing that Kansas couldn't afford to do was panic. Christian Braun turned down some open looks, as a team, Kansas was horrid from the free-throw line the first 20 minutes and couldn't hit a shot from behind the arc. I thought the last defensive possession of the game, which involved KJ Adams, was a big sequence for Kansas. Miami was looking to go up by eight or nine, but Adams was aggressive on his man, McGusty I believe, and eventually caused a turnover. Keeping the game within six points was huge for Kansas.
-- I sat next to Vahe Gregorian at the game and, right before the second half started, I told him the first 5-7 minutes of the second half would be huge for Kansas. At that very time, I believed that the game would either be won or lost during that small period of time. I just had a feeling that Kansas was either going to come out and take control or would fight to remain in the game, but for whatever reason, would be unable to get over the hump.
-- Kansas, in the second half, was absolutely amazing. I mean, it might have been the best 20 minutes I've seen this team play all year. The Jayhawks shot 59.3 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from behind the arc, and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line. Christian Braun hit the first 3 of the game for Kansas, which put the Jayhawks over the hump for good. David McCormack had the "And-1" in the second half, which, if I remember correctly, put Kansas up by 8 points, and Agbaji, after missing a layup, saved the ball from going out-of-bounds, passed the rock to Wilson, and, after receiving the ball back from Wilson, drilled a three from the corner, which, in my opinion, opened up the flood gates and slammed the door on Miami.
-- I think you can go back and look at any number of big plays in the second half, which flipped the script from a 6 point deficit to a 26 point victory. Again, and I mentioned this above, not much, if anything at all, went right for Kansas in the first half. Couldn't score, couldn't hit FT's, couldn't get any shots from behind the arc to fall, and McGusty, at the time, was a real problem. The way this team responded after halftime, to me, was just amazing. Braun gave KU the lead for good with KU's first 3 of the game. McCormack increased the lead to 8 with 14:21 left in the game. A three by Agbaji from the corner put Kansas up by 12 points and, at that point, Miami looked stunned. Remy Martin's 3 with 8:57 left in the game made it a 13 point lead for Kansas and, following two free-throws and a layup by Mitch Lightfoot, KU led by 19 points.
The 26 points deficit for Miami hit when Jalen Coleman-Lands drilled a three with 25 seconds left in the game.
-- Truthfully, in the second half, Kansas could do no wrong. Now, and this is something I'll be talking about a lot this week, Kansas has a chance to achieve something that was taken away from them in 2020. The Jayhawks are an early 3.5 favorite and will likely be the favorite in the National Championship game -- should Self's squad advance. This is exactly the type of performance this team needed heading into the Final Four. This team has a ton of confidence and swagger with a trip to New Orleans looming.
-- Truthfully, I wasn't really sure how this game was going to play out before tip. I knew that Kansas hadn't played its best game of the tournament yet and I knew that Miami was going to be a difficult matchup on Sunday. Basically, nothing that was going to happen earlier today would have been much of a surprise. I knew Kansas was more than capable of winning, but I also knew that Miami was good enough to advance to the Final Four.
-- For me, especially in the first half, the thing that Kansas couldn't afford to do was panic. Christian Braun turned down some open looks, as a team, Kansas was horrid from the free-throw line the first 20 minutes and couldn't hit a shot from behind the arc. I thought the last defensive possession of the game, which involved KJ Adams, was a big sequence for Kansas. Miami was looking to go up by eight or nine, but Adams was aggressive on his man, McGusty I believe, and eventually caused a turnover. Keeping the game within six points was huge for Kansas.
-- I sat next to Vahe Gregorian at the game and, right before the second half started, I told him the first 5-7 minutes of the second half would be huge for Kansas. At that very time, I believed that the game would either be won or lost during that small period of time. I just had a feeling that Kansas was either going to come out and take control or would fight to remain in the game, but for whatever reason, would be unable to get over the hump.
-- Kansas, in the second half, was absolutely amazing. I mean, it might have been the best 20 minutes I've seen this team play all year. The Jayhawks shot 59.3 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from behind the arc, and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line. Christian Braun hit the first 3 of the game for Kansas, which put the Jayhawks over the hump for good. David McCormack had the "And-1" in the second half, which, if I remember correctly, put Kansas up by 8 points, and Agbaji, after missing a layup, saved the ball from going out-of-bounds, passed the rock to Wilson, and, after receiving the ball back from Wilson, drilled a three from the corner, which, in my opinion, opened up the flood gates and slammed the door on Miami.
-- I think you can go back and look at any number of big plays in the second half, which flipped the script from a 6 point deficit to a 26 point victory. Again, and I mentioned this above, not much, if anything at all, went right for Kansas in the first half. Couldn't score, couldn't hit FT's, couldn't get any shots from behind the arc to fall, and McGusty, at the time, was a real problem. The way this team responded after halftime, to me, was just amazing. Braun gave KU the lead for good with KU's first 3 of the game. McCormack increased the lead to 8 with 14:21 left in the game. A three by Agbaji from the corner put Kansas up by 12 points and, at that point, Miami looked stunned. Remy Martin's 3 with 8:57 left in the game made it a 13 point lead for Kansas and, following two free-throws and a layup by Mitch Lightfoot, KU led by 19 points.
The 26 points deficit for Miami hit when Jalen Coleman-Lands drilled a three with 25 seconds left in the game.
-- Truthfully, in the second half, Kansas could do no wrong. Now, and this is something I'll be talking about a lot this week, Kansas has a chance to achieve something that was taken away from them in 2020. The Jayhawks are an early 3.5 favorite and will likely be the favorite in the National Championship game -- should Self's squad advance. This is exactly the type of performance this team needed heading into the Final Four. This team has a ton of confidence and swagger with a trip to New Orleans looming.
