2022 ended up being one of the most eventful calendar years for Kansas Athletics we’ve seen in a very long time. From the women’s basketball program’s resurgence and national championship in basketball to the football program’s hurried return to respectability, there have been plenty of individual moments along the way that are worth remembering.
Over the next week, we’ll be looking at different aspects of the sports section and our coverage of all things Kansas to share with you some of our favorite moments. Primarily basketball.
Kyle Davis
I told myself I wouldn’t pick David McCormack’s winner in the National Championship game. So I’m going for an early game into the Final Four against Villanova. In a season of heartfelt comebacks, and against a team that inflicted pain the last time Kansas played the Final Four, this was the rare game where the Jayhawks were in control. And if I need to pick a specific moment, I’d pick Christian Braun’s 3 clutch with just under four minutes left to go Match up And he gave us a great GIF. This was fun.
Derek Knoll
There was a moment in that national championship game that cemented my belief that KU could do it. The Jayhawks really had a comeback, they really got the momentum, they really dug furiously and attacked and just did what needed to be done, but when Jalen Wilson was hard on the rim, got fouled, fists pumped in celebration off his back on the floor, that was the moment that felt Its really that Kansas can still win it all. It got kind of tense after that as we all know, but that basket put them up by four points on KU with just under nine points left and the rest is history.
Lucas Murphy
My favorite basketball moment, of course, was the national championship victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is the second national championship I’ve been to and I’ve aged quite a bit. The Jayhawks found a way to ride out a 15-point halftime deficit to come back and secure a 72-69 victory. The 15-point deficit alone is a memory because when the Jayhawks regained every point earning, you could feel it was happening and eventually, they would lift that trophy. I felt like this Jayhawks team defied all odds and kept playing great basketball when they needed to. When the Jayhawks got the victory, I opened the Kansas Jayhawk J. Reiger whiskey and enjoyed two glasses.
Brendan Dzierzynski
There’s no shortage of moments to choose from in the National Championship game, but I’ll be back again for the Elite Eight game against Miami. A full second-half comeback is my choice, because this is the moment I finally let the confidence and excitement trump my pessimism and the fans’ natural anxiety; This is the moment when I told myself I thought Kansas was going to win the national title. From Christian Brown’s multiple big shots, to the athlete and one on Big Dave, to triples from Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin that felt like daggers, it was this stretch that made me think the ultimate goal was a loss for KU. Sitting in the United center press box as a Final Four anchor in front of me is something I will never forget.
Andy Mets
I agree that there is no shortage of great moments for the Kansas basketball team, so I’m going to pick two: one for the men’s team that has yet to be selected, and one for the women’s team. On the men’s side, I’d go with Christian Brown’s dagger against Norman’s Oklahoma, when we saw how well the team behaved and Brown cemented his reputation as the team’s bad boy. This attitude resurfaced throughout the rest of the season, and played a huge role in keeping this team from ever giving up a game.
On the women’s side, this must have been Austin’s Texas meltdown. Much like the win over Texas last season football sparked the turnaround we’re seeing, that was the first game in which the Jayhawks showed just how capable they are. They built a lot of momentum from there, finishing the season in the NCAA Tournament and moving it up to this season.
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