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Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis hugs forward Brady Manek (45) after losing the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

What Happened: UNC Men’s Hoops 2022 National Championship

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Jeremiah Artacho | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The North Carolina Tar Heels were leading 40-25 going into the locker room of Caesars Superdome located in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time, a then-first-year Head Coach Hubert Davis was about to make history, on the edge of winning a title in year No. 1, a season removed from Roy Williams' decision to retire from the game of basketball (who still enjoys the sport as a fan from the stands these days). All he had to get through was the second half, one last set of 20 minutes.

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks slowly erased the 15-point deficit and mounted a comeback that rocked the ship of Coach Davis and his team. The "Iron Five" group of RJ Davis, Caleb Love, Leaky Black, Brady Manek and Armando Bacot did all it could and, but the depth and talent it was facing came towards the end of their gas tank, after playing countless of minutes on a game-to-game basis for a majority of the 2021-2022 campaign.

Bacot's ankle injury kept him off the hardwood floor during the final moments of the game, but then it was one rebound in particular that may have been the difference maker — a difference between banner No. 7 or walking away as the runner-up.

North Carolina Was One Rebound Away

A dominant first half for UNC as an eight-seed in the NCAAT had all the game pressure it could have in a national championship, facing a talented Jayhawks team. But through the first 7-8 minutes of the second half, the Tar Heels watched the gap shrink, moment by moment — looking for what worked during the first 20 minutes. Puff Johnson provided scoring in addition to the starters, finishing the game with 11 points.

David McCormack's offensive rebound over Manek after his hook shot at the 1:27 mark in the second half kept the Tar Heels fighting on defense for longer ... Bacot had switched on to McCormack on his second shot attempt, but was successful, putting Kansas ahead 70-69 with 1:20 remaining.

What if that offensive rebound fell to North Carolina's hands? Well, the story could have very well been told a different way.

4.3 seconds was all UNC had down by three, as Johnson, Manek, Love, Davis, and Justin McKoy stood in place for one final place off the inbounds pass. A series of screens and cuts unfolded, the ball landed in Love's hand one final time, as he shot from the key of the key (same spot as he shot against Duke during the Final Four) but it hung toward the left of the rim, missing.

UNC's quest for a title resumes on November 3, and maybe the journey ends differently in Coach Davis' fifth season as the head coach.

Please

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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