Thrill Of Victory, Agony Of Defeat On Full Display In New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — Now retired head coach Mike Krzyzewski put it perfectly on Saturday following Duke’s loss to North Carolina in the national semifinal. 

“I’ve said my entire career — or when I knew what the hell I was doing — that I wanted my seasons to end where my team was either crying tears of joy or tears of sorrow, because then you knew you gave everything,” Coach K said Saturday night. 

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat was never more evident than on Monday night, after Kansas completed the largest comeback in the history of the national championship game, defeating North Carolina 72-69 for their fourth national title. 

As the North Carolina players trudged into the press conference area, the pain was all too evident. 

“It hurts for us to get this far and come up short like this, everything we went through,” sophomore guard Caleb Love said after the game. “But you know, the positive thing is I wouldn’t want to go through this with anybody else.” 

Love appeared to have more to say on the matter, but just couldn’t get through. He buried his head in his arms, the end of the run seemingly overwhelming him. 

There were many blank stares from the North Carolina podium, where Love, Armando Bacot, Puff Johnson, R.J. Davis, and head coach Hubert Davis sat, attempting as best they could to explain what just happened.

“The thing that I shared with them in the locker room is along the way, as they were experiencing it, they were giving me more stories and testimonies and memories by just having a front-row seat to be around them,” Davis said when asked about the experience of coaching his team deep into the tournament. 

“And so I said before that I can’t remember a time in my life where I should be disappointed, but I’m just filled with so much pride,” Davis continued. “I’m so proud of these guys of what they have done for themselves individually, as a team, the way that they have represented our university, this program, our university.”

In the college game, where players no longer stick around for four years, the knowledge that their run has come to an end is one that brings about raw emotions. And while the same can be said for the 2021-2022 Kansas squad, going out with a national championship certainly helps in moving on. 

“What a way to go out,” six-year senior Mitch Lightfoot said. “I’m so happy for these guys. So happy for Coach [Bill Self]. So happy for Kansas, our fans. It just means the world to them. And as far as six years of college, I figure if you stay around long enough, you’re bound to get one [national championship].” 

“I was super blessed to be a part of this group,” Lightfoot continued. “Just getting to see these guys work day in and day out means the world to me. I was glad we were able to get one.”

It was nearly another crushing defeat for Kansas, who hadn’t won a national championship since 2008. Down 15 coming out of the tunnel for the second half, it appeared that Self would be forced to deal with another year of questions regarding just his one championship. 

But Kansas came out with a different energy with its season on the line, responding with a 31-10 run of their own, taking a 56-50 lead with 10:23 left in the second half. Christian Braun had 10 points during the run, with Jalen Wilson adding eight points of his own. 

Transfer guard Remy Martin was huge off the bench, contributing 14 points with three massive shots from beyond the arc in the second half. David McCormack had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas, and Braun finishing with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. 

“Coach, he obviously challenged us and he was amped up in there [in the locker room at halftime],” 2022 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Ochai Agbaji said when asked what the message was for the second half. “But it was a matter of us playing our game and executing in the second half and taking away what they were getting at in the first half.” 

Self now has two national championships to his name, becoming just the 16th coach to have multiple championships in his career.  

“These don’t fall off trees,” Self said when asked what it means to win a second championship at Kansas. “I mean, they’re hard to get. And so the first one we got, it was great and everything. And we knocked on the door since then but haven’t been able to punch the ticket, so to speak.” 

“I think when they’re the all-time winningest program, just by a slim margin, and when the inventor of the game was your first coach, and when the likes of Adolph Rupp comes from Kansas, and Dean Smith comes from Kansas, and Wilt Chamberlain comes from Kansas, the expectations are where being good is okay but it’s not enough,” Self continued. “Nobody’s ever put pressure on me that we’ve got to win another one, but I think I put pressure on myself knowing that this place deserves more than what we’ve won.” 

Sports gives you the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, but both teams should be able to hold their heads high, as they put on a thrilling performance for the 70,000 fans in attendance, capping off a wonderful college basketball season. 

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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