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First of all let’s acknowledge that this might be one of the few times in NCAA Tournament history that the Championship game might not be as legendary as the semifinal. The first ever Duke/UNC tournament meeting and the end of Coach K’s illustrious career will be things that may last in our collective memory far longer than whoever is going to be crowned a national champion tonight. In A COMPLETELY unscientific poll I’ve been asking Carolina fans if they really care who wins tonight. After all they have bragging fights FOREVER now over Duke having beaten them in the only NCAA meeting between them as well as taking down the Blue Devils in Coach Ks’ last game at Cameron Indoor and sending him into retirement. The results? About 50/50.. The Heels are playing with house money tonight.. but someone’s going home with a title tonight, so lets dive in.
It’s hard to find a better lineage in a title game that Kansas and North Carolina. After all the inventor of the game, James Naismith , founded the Kansas basketball program. One of the assistant coaches and disciples of Naismith was Forrest "Phog" Allen. He eventually took over as head coach at Kansas where one of his players, a young man named Dean Smith, helped deliver him a national championship before beginning his own coaching career at North Carolina. Smith would become a Tar Heels legend during his tenure in Chapel Hill, leading North Carolina to a pair of national championships. The current Heels head Coach Hubert Davis? Yeah, he played for Dean Smith at Carolina. The tentacles here run VERY deep. KU and UNC met once before in championship game – 65 years ago. In 1957 the Tar Heels beat Wilt Chamberlain and Jayhawks, 54-53 in triple OT, to claim their first title. Again..we’ve got HISTORY tonight.
So what do the numbers tell us? Overall, this will be the seventh time the two schools meet in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas has won four of the previous six meetings in the tournament, including a 3-0 record under Bill Self. As the lone #1 seed to make the final four Kansas can extend the championship streak of # 1 seeds to five straight tournaments. The only time five straight tourneys were won by 1-seeds was 1992 through 1996, when Duke, North Carolina, Arkansas, UCLA and Kentucky were victorious. Since 1990, teams seeded No. 1 facing a lower (worse) seed have a record of 14-2 SU and 11-5 ATS in the championship game. Kansas enters tonight’s game on a 10-game win streak. They’re a 1 seed for a reason and UNC is an 8 seed for a reason. This will be the sixth time a national champion will be crowned at the Caesars Superdome. The favorite has won four the five previous championship games and Kansas is favored tonight. But sometimes, reason takes a back seat to destiny.
UNC is 9-1 in it’s last 10 games at the Caesars Super Dome. And there’s just something about UNC playing in the title game: Carolina has won 5 of the last 6 times it’s made it to the final game of the season. And if you believe ghosts and spirits, which is a BIG part of the culture of this city, UNC has a little of that going for it as well. Both of Dean Smith’s NCAA titles were captured inside the Caesars Super Dome under bizarre situations. In 1982 Georgetown’s Fred Brown inexplicably passed the ball to UNC’s James Worthy sealing the Carolina win, and 11 years later Michigan’s Chris Webber called a time out he didn’t have late, once again giving Smith and Carolina the title.
By every measurable metric Kansas is the better team and should win. But by the voodoo vibes that are such a big part of the crescent city it’s hard not imagine the Heels finding a way once again. Either way, an epic night is in store.
