Kansas overpowers Villanova to setup a final matchup with North Carolina / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix Credit USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix

David McCormack was a menace in the paint, Ochai Agbaji made 6 three-pointers, and the Kansas Jayhawks beat Villanova Wildcats in the NCAA March Madness Final Four 81-65 (40-29, 41-36) to advance to the final.

It was a hot start for Kansas who got off to a 10-0 lead early in the game. Behind McCormack and Agbaji's impressive performances, the Jayhawks continued their dominance in the first half, leading 26-11 after the first 10 minutes of the match.

Kansas' lead even reached 19 points in the first half after Jalen Wilson tipped in his teammate's missed shot. However, the Wildcats were not to be so easily beaten.

Behind Collin Gillespie's leadership, Villanova went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead down to 9. The teams headed to locker rooms with Kansas leading by 11 at halftime.

The second half continued to be a battle with Kansas trying to close the game and Villanova continuously fighting back. The teams were separated by those same 9 points with 10 minutes to go.

After Jermaine Samuels' two-plus-one, Villanova cut the lead down to only 6 points, but Kansas then showed who the better team was. The Jayhawks finished the match on a 17-7 run to mark their place in the final.

"I think that we came out ready to play," the Jayhawks head coach Bill Self told after the match. "We really couldn't do much wrong early, we got a few breaks and build the lead. You knew Villanova would make a run and then we just kind of held on and responded."

"I thought we played great, I thought we were disciplined defensively, I thought we stayed down on shot fakes basically for 40 minutes," the coach continued. "With the exception of defending the arc, I thought we just played terrific."

Kansas will battle against North Carolina Tar Heels who beat Mike Krzyzewski's Duke University Blue Devils in the coach's final game in his NCAA career. The Jayhawks are viewed as favorites ahead of the matchup.

Every other team in the Final Four has at least one former five-star prospect on the roster, and the Jayhawks do not have any, but with great coaching and tremendous play, Kansas reached the finals in a confident manner.

On the other side, North Carolina is the No. 1 team in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency since March 1. Still, UNC is the 8th-seed, and the task of beating dominant Kansas in the final is probably the toughest they've had.

Kansas: David McCormack 25 (10/12 2PT, 9 REB), Ochai Ahbaji 21 (6/7 3PT), Jalen Wilson 11 (12 REB, 5 AST), Christian Braun 10 (5 AST).

Villanova: Collin Gillespie 17 (5/8 3PT), Brandon Slater 16 (4/7 3PT, 8 REB), Caleb Daniels 13 (5 REB).

Full game highlights:

Ochai Agbaji's three-pointers show:

David McCormack's impressive performance:

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