2022 in Review: Spectacular Kansas Jayhawk Basketball Moments
The year 2022 ended up being one of the most eventful calendar years for Kansas Athletics that we have seen in a very long time. From a resurgence in the women's basketball program and a national championship in basketball to the accelerated return of the football program to respectability, there were plenty of individual moments along the way that are worth remembering.
Over the next week, we will be looking at various aspects of the athletic department and our coverage of everything Kansas to share with you some of our favorite moments. Up first is basketball.
Kyle Davis
I told myself I wouldn’t pick David McCormack’s winner in the national championship game. So I’m going a game earlier to the Final Four against Villanova. In a season of heart-stopping comebacks, and against a team that provided pain the last time Kansas made the Final Four, this was the rare game where the Jayhawks were in control. And if I need to pick a specific moment, I’ll go with Christian Braun’s clutch 3 with just under four minutes left that clinched the game and gave us a fantastic GIF. That was fun.
Derek Noll
There was a moment in that national championship game that sealed my belief that KU could really do it. The Jayhawks had already made the comeback, they’d already gotten momentum, they’d already furiously chiseled and attacked and done what had to be done, but when Jalen Wilson w it ent hard to the rim, got fouled, and pumped both fists in celebration from his back on the floor, that was the moment it truly felt like Kansas could go on to win it all. It got kind of tense after that as we all know, but that basket made it a four point KU lead with under nine to go 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 had experienced and both aged me tremendously. The Jayhawks found a way to chip away a 15-point halftime deficit to come back and secure a 72-69 victory. The 15-point deficit alone is a memory because as the Jayhawks clawed back earning every point you could feel that it was happening and in the end, they would be hoisting that trophy. It felt like this Jayhawks’ team defied all the odds and continued to play great basketball when it needed to. When the Jayhawks secured the victory I popped open my Kansas Jayhawk J. Reiger whiskey and enjoyed two glasses.
Brendan Dzwierzynski
There’s no shortage of moments to choose from in the National Championship Game, but I’ll go back a couple games to the Elite Eight matchup against Miami. The entire second half comeback is my choice, because that’s the moment that I finally let confidence and excitement overtake my natural fan pessimism and worry; that’s the moment when I said to myself that I thought Kansas was going to win the national title. From Christian Braun’s multiple big shots, to Big Dave’s athletic and-one, to threes from Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin that felt like daggers, that was the stretch that gave me belief that the ultimate goal was KU’s to lose. Sitting in the press box of the United Center as a berth in the Final Four materialized in front of me is something I’ll never forget.
Andy Mitts
I agree that there is no shortage of great moments for Kansas Basketball, so I’m going to pick two: one for the men’s team that hasn’t been picked yet, and another for the women’s team. On the men’s side, I’m going to go with the Christian Braun dagger against Oklahoma down in Norman, when we got to see just how much attitude the team had and Braun solidified the reputation as the bad boy of the team. That attitude resurfaced throughout the rest of the season, and had a big part in keeping this team from ever giving up on any game.
On the women’s side, it has to be the upset of Texas down in Austin. Much like the win over Texas last season for the football sparked the turnaround that we are witnessing, that was the first game where the Jayhawks showed just how capable they were. They built a ton of momentum from there, finishing the season in the NCAA Tournament and carrying it over into this season.
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