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Kansas
No. 4 Heels Drop Close Contest to No. 6 Kansas, 80-67
March 25, 2012 | Men's Basketball
March 25, 2012
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ST. LOUIS (AP) - Tyshawn Taylor broke out of his slump in a big way Sunday, scoring 22 points and leading Kansas back to the Final Four with an 80-67 victory over former coach Roy Williams and top-seeded North Carolina.
The second-seeded Jayhawks (31-6) will play Ohio State on Saturday in their first appearance in the Final Four since 2008, when they won the national championship.
"There's no way to put into words the way we feel," Williams said. "There's no way to put into words the way I feel. ... It's the NCAA tournament. One team wins and one team loses, and that's what we have to understand."
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James Michael McAdoo scored 15 for the Tar Heels (32-6), who played better in their second game without injured star point guard Kendall Marshall. But North Carolina couldn't overcome a 5:46 field goal drought to end the game.
"It was a game of runs," Williams said. "And we didn't answer the last one."
Both teams made impressive recoveries from their ugly wins Friday night, starting on a crisp, torrid pace that had both shooting better than 56 percent at halftime.
North Carolina was playing a second straight game without the dazzling Marshall, who Williams called "our engine, our driver, the head of the thing." But unlike Friday, when the Tar Heels turned the ball over a season-high 24 times and looked surprisingly disheveled, they had things back under control Sunday.
Freshman White had seven assists, giving him 13 for the two games without a single turnover.
The Jayhawks seemed on the verge of pulling away several times, only to have Carolina reel them back in. But just before the midway point of the second half, Kansas established some breathing room when Travis Releford scored on a jumper to start an 8-2 run. Taylor capped the spurt with a swirl-in jumper and a dunk off a turnover by John Henson to give the Jayhawks a 66-61 lead.
Harrison Barnes made the first of two free throws to make it 68-67 with 3:58 to play. But Johnson, shooting almost 52 percent in the tournament, drained that 3 from NBA range to start the decisive run.
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"There's no way to put into words the way we feel. There's no way to put into words the way I feel. ... It's the NCAA tournament. One team wins and one team loses, and that's what we have to understand."
Head Coach Roy Williams
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Taylor led five Jayhawks in double figures. Player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Johnson kept up his blistering pace in the tournament with 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:07 to play that sparked Kansas' 12-0 run to end the game. Jeff Withey made two monster blocks to deny the Tar Heels during the run - including one that set up a big three-point play by Taylor.
Taylor came up with the rebound after Withey swatted away a shot by John Henson and streaked downcourt for a layup, getting fouled by Stilman White in the process. He made the free throw to give Kansas a 74-67 lead with 1:59 left, and the Jayhawks cruised from there.
"It was a four-point game. It quickly became nine," said Zeller, who had 12 points and six rebounds. "We had a timeout and I think we still thought we had a chance then. We came down and they made a great stop. ... Once they started making free throws, it hit double digits and we knew time was running out."
This was only the second time Williams had faced Kansas since leaving the school where he spent his first 15 years as a head coach, taking the Jayhawks to the NCAA title game twice - they lost in both 1991 and 2003 - and two other Final Fours.
"Too emotional for me. That's the bottom line," Williams said, calling Kansas his "second-favorite" team. "I don't think it'll ever feel good for me, regardless of the outcome. I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable with it."
