Saturday, April 5, 2008
Jayhawk fans, you may now breathe easily. North Carolina mounted a mega-comeback and clawed as close as five points, but Kansas held off the charge and won, 84-66, thanks to late shooting by Brandon Rush, who finished with 25 points. Rush made 11 of his 17 field goal attempts, and Sherron Collins added 11 points off the bench.
Photo Gallery
Kansas Basketball vs. North Carolina
Photo gallery of Kansas' Final Four game against North Carolina, Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
North Carolina's second-half spurt was keyed by guard Danny Green, who finished with 15 points. The Jayhawks held forward Tyler Hansbrough mostly quiet, as the AP Player of the Year scored just 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Guard Wayne Ellington paced the Tar Heels with 18 points.
Kansas will meet Memphis in the national championship game Monday night in San Antonio.
Visit Kansan.com for continuing updates.
Kansas dominated North Carolina during a 10-minute stretch in the first half to jump to a 44-27 lead at halftime. Kansas held a five-point advantage five minutes in, but held North Carolina scoreless for nearly six minutes on the way to a 40-12 lead. The Tar Heels climbed closer late in the opening half, but a buzzer-beating layup by Kansas guard Sherron Collins put the Jayhawks on top by 17.
One of Kansas’ worst-case scenarios unfolded early in the first half: senior center Sasha Kaun found himself in foul trouble. Fortunately for the Jayhawks, Cole Aldrich exploded for six points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal. North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough tallied 10 points but only shot four free throws, certainly a positive for frequent-fouler Darrell Arthur and his Jayhawks.
Junior guard Brandon Rush paced the Jayhawks in the first half with 12 points. The only Tar Heel to score more than five points in the opening half was guard Danny Green, who came off the bench to spark a late 10-2 run.
Kansas’ sophomore forward Darrell Arthur scored within the first 10 seconds to set the pace for Kansas, but North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough answered 30 seconds later to tie the game at 2-2. Darnell Jackson stepped out of character and out of his normal range to hit a 3-pointer with 18:33 to play, stretching the Jayhawk lead to five.
Kansas couldn’t stop Hansbrough for the first five minutes of the game, as the 6-foot-8 forward made his first two shots. North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington didn’t fare as well, when Darrell Arthur swatted a 15-foot jumper, leading directly to a Brandon Rush layup.
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Comments
Kansas defeats North Carolina, 84-66, advances to title game
I'm not going to be like some of the classless KU fans who have sent their comments to The Daily Tar Heel. I'll just leave it at congratulations for advancing in the Final Four. Your team deserved to win.
For us, last year's Achilles heel was Georgetown. This year it was KU. There is still some unfinished business.
UNC Alum Class of '77
Kansas defeats North Carolina, 84-66, advances to title game
Kansas fans, your players played great. Bill Self did an excellent job.
The only thing shocking is how classless so many of you fans are.
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