When was the last time KU played UNC in the NCAA finals? Here’s the teams’ history
The Kansas Jayhawks and North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball teams are set for another clash, this time for the national championship. This was an unlikely match-up at the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, but it just makes sense given both schools’ long history of winning.
The two blue-bloods are locked in for an 8:20 p.m. tipoff on TBS. You can find other ways to watch it here, or go to one of the many watch parties in Kansas City and Lawrence.
Before they play, take a look at some of the teams’ history in the NCAA Tournament.
HOW MANY TITLES?
The University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina have a total of nine NCAA championships.
Kansas has claimed three, winning it in 1952, 1988 and 2008. The Tar Heels have six, winning theirs in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.
Their paths crossed in KU’s 2008 championship run and UNC’s 1957 victory.
HAVE THEY PLAYED EACH OTHER BEFORE?
North Carolina and Kansas have played each other 11 times prior to Monday’s championship game. UNC currently leads the series 6-5.
They’re playing against each other for the seventh time in the NCAA Tournament, with the last time taking place in 2013. Kansas came out on top, defeating North Carolina 70-58.
Time is also a flat circle, as the Jayhawks were the No. 1 seed and the Tar Heels were the No. 8 seed in that game, just like in Monday’s national championship game.
In KU’s 2008 championship run, they beat North Carolina in the Final Four 84-66 in what was former KU head coach Roy Williams’s first time coaching against his former school. Williams moved from KU to UNC in 2003, and he retired last year.
IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?
KU and UNC had their biggest face off in 1957’s championship game, which took place in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.
In what has been considered one of the greatest college basketball games ever played, North Carolina took home the championship in a 54-53 victory over Kansas. The game took three overtimes to finish and featured one of basketball’s greatest players, Wilt Chamberlain.
In a deep dive by The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff in 2007 detailing the history for its 50th anniversary, Chamberlain called the loss the most devastating thing that ever happened to him in sports.
“I got the tag of being a loser because of that game,” Chamberlain said in a 1998 interview in Lawrence, a year before he died. “It was hard for me (to) take because I was a young man everybody expected so much from.”
Kansas has an opportunity to even the series against North Carolina and to get their revenge 65 years later. It all happens on Monday night.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 2:05 PM.
