ST. LOUIS — Tyshawn Taylor broke out of his slump in a big way Sunday, scoring 22 points and leading Kansas back to the Final Four with an 80-67 victory over former coach Roy Williams and top seeded North Carolina.
The second-seeded Jayhawks (31-6) will play Ohio State on Saturday in their first Final Four appearance since winning the 2008 national championship.
“It’s awesome,” center Jeff Withey said. “There’s no better feeling than this right now.”
As the game ended, Taylor ran to Kansas fans and raised both arms in the air. Travis Releford tossed his sweatbands into the crowd.
“This is what you come to Kansas for,” Taylor said. “It’s a great feeling, but it’s just one step.”
Taylor led five Jayhawks with at least 10 points. Player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Johnson scored 10 points, including a three-pointer with 3:07 to play that sparked Kansas’ 12-0 run to end the game. Withey made two blocks to deny the Tar Heels during the final run - including one that set up a big three-point play by Taylor.
Taylor came up with the rebound after Withey swatted away a shot by John Henson and ran down court for a layup, getting fouled by Stilman White in the process. As the pro-Kansas crowd cheered, Taylor butted his head into Robinson’s chest. He made the free throw to give Kansas a 74-67 lead with 1:59 left, and the Jayhawks cruised from there.
“There’s no way to put into words the way we feel,” Williams said. “It’s the NCAA tournament. One team wins and one team loses, and that’s what we have to understand.”
James Michael McAdoo scored 15 for the Tar Heels (32-6), who played better in their second game without injured starting point guard Kendall Marshall. But North Carolina couldn’t overcome a 5:46 field goal drought to end the Midwest Regional final.
It was only the third defeat in 12 regional final appearances for the Tar Heels, but their second consecutive after losing to Kentucky last year.
“It was a game of runs,” Williams said. “And we didn’t answer the last one.”
This was only the second time Williams had faced Kansas since leaving the school where he spent 15 years as a head coach, taking the Jayhawks to the NCAA title game twice - they lost in both 1991 and 2003 - and two other Final Fours. Williams said Saturday that facing his old team will always be unpleasant.
“Too emotional for me. That’s the bottom line,” Williams said, calling Kansas his “second-favorite” team. “I don’t think it’ll ever feel good for me, regardless of the outcome. I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable with it.”
North Carolina was playing a second consecutive game without Marshall, who Williams called “our engine, our driver, the head of the thing.” But unlike Friday, when the Tar Heels turned the ball over a season-high24 times against No. 13 seed Ohio, they had things back under control Sunday.
White, a freshman, had seven assists that brought his total to 13 for the two games without a single turnover. North Carolina shot almost 64 percent in the first half.
But the Jayhawks cranked up the pressure defensively in the second half, and North Carolina buckled. The Tar Heels shot 7 of 31 after halftime and had 6 turnovers.
“We had an opportunity to win that game and we didn’t come through,” said Harrison Barnes, who slumped in a locker room chair after the game. “I missed a lot of shots I usually make. Big-time players come through in big-time games, and it just wasn’t there tonight.”
The Jayhawks seemed on the verge of pulling away several times, only to have Carolina reel them back in. But just before the midway point of the second half, Kansas established some breathing room when Releford scored on a jumper to start an 8-2 run. Taylor capped the spurt with a jumper and a dunk off a turnover by Henson to give the Jayhawks a 66-61 lead.
Tyler Zeller pulled the Tar Heels within two on a put back, and Barnes hit the first of two free throws to make it 68-67 with 3:58 to play. But Johnson, shooting almost 52 percent in the tournament, drained that three to start the decisive run.
“We knew we had to tighten up on defense. We shut them down,” Robinson said. “It feels great right now. Call me tomorrow morning and I can tell you how it feels then.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 03/26/2012