NCAA Tournament Men’s Final Four: Kansas takes on Villanova for the Monday Night Championship Game bid

March 30, 2022

NEW ORLEANS – Set to play in its 16th Final Four, No. 1-seed Kansas (32-6) will meet No. 2-seed Villanova (30-7) on Saturday, April 2, at 5:09 p.m. CST at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The game will air on TBS with Jim Nantz (Play-by-Play), Bill Raftery (Analyst), Grant Hill (Analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (Reporter) on the call.

Kansas claimed its 13th NCAA Midwest Region Tournament title with a 76-50 win over No. 10-seed Miami on Sunday, March 27, in Chicago. With the win, the Jayhawks advance to the 16th Final Four in program history and fourth under head coach Bill Self.

In the win over Miami, the Jayhawks were led by a dominant defensive performance, in which Kansas outscored Miami 47-15 in the second half. Miami’s 15 points were the fewest allowed in the second of an NCAA Tournament game in Kansas program history.

Following the win over Miami, super-senior Remy Martin was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Region, while Christian Braun and David McCormack earned All-Region Team honors.

Kansas is led by Naismith Player of the Year finalist Ochai Agbaji, who averages 18.9 points per game, while shooting 35.6 percent beyond the arc, both of which are Big 12 bests. Martin has provided a boost during the tournament, scoring in double-figures in three-of-four tournament games, including a season-high 23 points in Kansas’ Sweet Sixteen win against Providence.

With the Sweet 16 win over Providence, Kansas became the winningest program in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history, and the Jayhawks are currently holding 2,355 all-time wins. Kansas enters the Final Four with NCAA Tournament wins over No. 16 seed Texas Southern (83-56), No. 9 Creighton (79-72), No. 4 Providence (66-61) and No. 10 Miami (76-50).

Villanova enters the Final Four after a 50-44 victory over No. 5-seed Houston in the Elite Eight, in which graduate guard Jermaine Samuels led the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Samuels was named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player.

Villanova entered the NCAA Tournament with a 16-4 record in the Big EAST, before defeating No. 15 seed Delaware (80-60), No. 7 seed Ohio State (71-61), No. 11 seed Michigan (63-55) and No. 5 seed Houston (50-44) to reach the Final Four.

Kansas is 12-14 in Final Four games all-time, including 3-2 under head coach Bill Self, beginning in 2004. The Jayhawk most recently appeared in the Final Four in 2018, where Kansas lost to Villanova, 95-79 in San Antonio.

The Final Four contest between the Jayhawks and Wildcats will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Villanova holding the series advantage at 5-4.

Up Next

Should Kansas win its Final Four Matchup against No. 2 seed Villanova, the Jayhawks would advance to their sixth NCAA Championship appearance and first since 2012. Kansas will play the winner of No. 2 seed Duke and No. 8 seed North Carolina at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The game will be played on Monday, April 4 on TBS.

COURTESY KANSAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

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