Kansas basketball: Record night ends Jayhawks title run

The Kansas basketball season came to a frustrating end Saturday. It took a record setting night for Villanova to beat the Jayhawks 95-79.

The Kansas basketball team nobody expected to do much this season arrived at the Final Four with expectation of beating the Big East runner up to advance to Monday’s Championship game. The Jayhawk team that won the Big 12 Title, the conference tournament and held off a very good Duke team in the Midwest Regional Final ran into a record setting performance.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks started Saturday’s Final Four battle strong. They easily won the opening tip and took the lead on a shot by Udoka Azubuike. That was one of the few highlights in the first half. It was all downhill from there.

Villanova hit 6 of their first 10 from beyond the arc to take a 22-4 lead. Combine that with a couple of charging calls on the Jayhawks and they found themselves in a deep hole. As a matter of fact, it got worse. The ‘Cats kept shooting and hitting, mostly threes. They attempted 18 threes before the Jayhawks attempted their first.

If just one Wildcat was on fire, coach Self might have had a defensive solution. However, seven different Wildcat’s hit early 3s. Self tried a zone defense that helped for a couple of possessions. It did little to stop the record setting performance.

There were signs of hope. Nova missed a pair of threes to end the half and another to open the second half. Maybe the ‘Cats would  go cold.  I never dreamed any team could shoot as well for a second half. I was wrong. After of 13 of 26 3-pointers in first half, they hit 4 of 7 to begin the final 20 minutes on their way to 18 threes, a new record in a final four game.

There was hope with 9 minutes left

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Devonte Graham and Malik Newman did their best to get the Jayhawks back in the game. With 9 minutes to play, Newman who finished with 21 points, hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 14. A moment later, Villanova gave the ball back on a five second call. Fans believed this might be the start of some momentum. A pair of missed three pointers by Marcus Garrett killed this comeback.

The final score hurt. On the other hand, fans must not take for granted what this year’s team accomplished.  Devonte Graham finished his All American season with 23 points on 9-18 shooting and 4 of 8 from deep. He led this team far beyond what anyone expected. It was a fantastic ride that ended too soon.