NEW ORLEANS — Kansas’ men’s basketball team will play for the national title for the first time since 2012 and third time in the Bill Self era on Monday night at Caesars Superdome.
Ochai Agbaji hit six 3-pointers in seven tries and scored 21 points while David McCormack scored 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting (5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line) and grabbed nine rebounds as the Jayhawks, the No. 1-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional, rolled to a 19-point first-half lead and downed old nemesis Villanova, No. 2 seed in the South, 81-65, in a Final Four semifinal on Saturday in the Big Easy.
Christian Braun added 10 points and dished five assists, while Jalen Wilson had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (33-6), who will meet either No. 2 seed Duke or No. 8 seed North Carolina at 8:20 p.m. Monday for the NCAA title.
KU last played for the crown in 2012, losing to Kentucky, 67-59, in New Orleans. Self’s Jayhawks won the NCAA title in 2008, downing Memphis, 75-68, in overtime in San Antonio.
Also, Dajuan Harris went for nine points (he hit three 3s), while Remy Martin had three points and five rebounds. Mitch Lightfoot had two points and four boards.
Collin Gillespie scored 17 points (5-of-8 shooting from three) and Brandon Slater added 16 points and Caleb Daniels 13 for Villanova, which clobbered KU, 95-79, in a 2018 Final Four semifinal in San Antonio. Nova also beat KU, 64-59, in the 2016 Elite Eight in Louisville.
KU hit 53.7% of its shots overall (13 of 34 from 3 and 10 of 12 from the line) in winning its 10th straight game. Villanova, which had its nine-game win streak snapped, hit 38.6% of its shots. The Wildcats went 13 of 31 from 3 and 8 of 10 from the line.
