Not to be the bearer of bad news, but college basketball is over for 2021-22. The good news: It went out with a bang, thanks to a highly entertaining NCAA men's tournament and a drama-filled Final Four capped by Kansas' historic second-half comeback to top North Carolina's Tar Heels for the Jayhawks' fourth national title.
I know, I know, it wasn't much of a tournament for the local team. It was one-and-done for the Wildcats with Kentucky the first victim of Saint Peter's Cinderella ride to the Elite Eight. Over the past three weeks, we've had ample time to analyze, strategize and criticize the far-too-abrupt end to the latest UK campaign.
Instead, let's look at the big picture. Surely there are lessons to be learned from the 67 tournament games played from the First Four through the Final Four. Here's three:
1. Old is still gold
Following a recent tournament trend, Kansas used its ample experience to find its way up the ladder to cut down the nets in New Orleans. Monday night, Bill Self started two seniors in Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack, a junior in Christian Braun and a pair of sophomores in Dajuan Harris and Jalen Wilson. Don't forget sixth man Remy Martin, the grad transfer from Arizona State.
Runner-up North Carolina boasted its own battle scars. First-year head coach Hubert Davis started a pair of seniors in Leaky Black and Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek, along with a junior in Armando Bacot and a pair of sophomores in Caleb Love and RJ Davis.
These players weren't just experienced players, they were experienced players in their respective programs. Kansas' Martin and North Carolina's Manek were newbies to their schools, but both boasted plenty of hoops knowledge. And both were surrounded by teammates who could show them "this is how we do it."
2. Defense still matters
At the conclusion of its championship run, Kansas ended up No. 17 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings for adjusted defensive efficiency. That's the 19th time in the last 20 tournaments that the champion ended up in kenpom's defensive top 20. (And he's only been number-crunching for the last 20.) Baylor was the only outlier, and just barely. The Bears finished 22nd in defensive efficiency after their 2021 title.
Kansas held all of its six NCAA Tournament foes below 41 percent from the field. The off-target six: Texas Southern 32.8; Creighton 40.9; Providence 33.8; Miami 34.5; Villanova 38.6 and North Carolina 31.5.
The Jayhawks trailed Miami 35-29 at halftime of the Elite Eight before crushing the Canes 47-15 in the second half. Monday night, Kansas trailed North Carolina 40-25 at halftime before holding the Tar Heels to 27.5 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.
3. Momentum means something
For many years, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee focused on how teams were playing at the end of the season. During his time on the committee, however, former SEC commissioner Mike Slive put an end to that, arguing teams should be judged by their body of work, a criteria that continues today.
Maybe the committee needs to rethink that. No. 1 seed Baylor was 8-4 over its last dozen pre-NCAA Tournament games before the Bears were bounced in the second round. No. 2 seed Auburn was 5-4 before its second-round exit. Kentucky was 5-3 over its last eight games while Saint Peter's brought a seven-game win streak to Indianapolis.
On the flip side, No. 4 seed Arkansas won 17 of its last 20 on the way to the Elite Eight. No. 8 seed North Carolina lost by 29 to Kentucky, by 28 to Miami and 22 to Wake Forest but won six of its last seven heading into the tourney — including that 13-point super-spoiler at Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final home game.
What about Kansas? After losing to Kentucky 80-62 in Lawrence on Jan. 29, the Jayhawks went 17-3 the rest of the way to give Self his second national title. It's not about how you're playing at the beginning of the season or even the middle of the season. It's about how you're playing at the end of the season.
