NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The Great Kansas Comeback, as it will forever be known in the history books, is about more than just one stifling, scintillating 20-minute stretch of Jayhawks basketball.
The championship KU captured Monday night traced its roots back to 2020, when the Jayhawks were a team that looked very much on track for the program’s fourth national title.
Instead, it was KU’s come-from-behind 72-69 victory over North Carolina on Monday that brought that fourth championship banner back to Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks insisted they’d share it with the 2020 team, too.
“It’s partially won for them,” said coach Bill Self, who has led Kansas to two of its four titles. “Because I always thought the 2020 team was better, more equipped to do well in the NCAA Tournament.”
Led by Devon Dotson and first-round NBA pick Udoka Azubuike, that 2020 team was, in fact, a team built for a championship. It was headed for a top seeding and the odds-on favorite to win it all.