No. 1 Kansas and No. 8 North Carolina to compete for 2022 Men's NCAA Basketball National Championship

The stage is set for the Jayhawks and Tar Heels in the final game of The Big Dance.

Photos from the 2022 Final Four

NCAA Basketball: Final Four-Semifinals-North Carolina vs Duke

Apr 2, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; An overall view of the Caesars Superdome during a game between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four semifinals. Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

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The 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship slate is set: the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (33-6) and the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels (29-9) will face off Monday night in New Orleans in pursuit of the national title.

The Jayhawks earned a trip to the National Championship game after a dominant, 81-65 win over No. 2 Villanova in the Final Four Saturday afternoon at Caesars Superdome. 

Kansas started its 2022 Final Four game hot — nabbing a 10-0 lead — and held the Wildcats off for the remainder. Senior forward David McCormack led the Jayhawks with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Kansas also got major contributions from senior guard Ochai Agbaji (21 points) and sophomore forward Jalen Wilson (11 points, 12 rebounds).

This will be the Jayhawks first trip to the title game since 2012 and a national championship win would be the team's first since Kansas defeated Memphis in 2008.

No. 8 North Carolina earned a slot in the title game after an 81-77 upset of No. 2 Duke in the semifinal Monday night. 

The Tar Heels and Blue Devils were back and forth throughout the entire game, sharing 17 lead changes over 40 minutes of play. With 27 points, sophomore guard Caleb Love accounted for a third of the Tar Heels scoring. Junior forward Armando Bacot posted dominated the glass with 21 rebounds while adding another 11 points before fouling out.

"[The Tar Heels] should be front and center with the spotlight on them," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said following the game. "It's a beautiful day for North Carolina basketball."

Duke's loss marked the end of head coach Mike Krzyzewski's legendary 42-year career at the helm of the Blue Devils.  

The 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game will tip off at Caesars Superdome at 9:20 p.m. ET Monday night.

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