NCAA Tournament: #8 North Carolina v. #1 Kansas

Who will WIN the championship?

#8 North Carolina Tar Heels (29-9)

#1 Kansas Jayhawks (33-6)

Current odds:

North Carolina Tar Heels: (+161)

Kansas Jayhawks: (-200)

• The line for this game is Kansas by 4 points.

• Kansas and North Carolina have two of the most successful men’s basketball programs in NCAA history. They both will have an opportunity to add to their accomplishments when they meet for the national championship on Monday night in New Orleans.

• The Jayhawks (33-6) are seeking their fourth national championship, which would break a tie for seventh most with Villanova, which they beat 81-65 in Saturday’s first national semifinal. They were the only No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Final Four.

• The Tar Heels (29-9) have the third-most titles as they seek No. 7 in coach Hubert Davis’ first season.

• Legendary Tar Heels coach Dean Smith, who led UNC to championships in 1982 and 1993, played on Kansas’ 1952 national championship team.

• Roy Williams, who attended UNC and was an assistant under Smith there, coached the Jayhawks for 15 seasons before returning to coach the Tar Heels for 18 seasons, winning championships in Chapel Hill in 2005, 2009 and 2017 before retiring a year ago.

• Self has brought Kansas to the Final Four for a fourth time, but he has just one national championship (2008) to show for it.

• Self noted the disparity in how these teams utilize 3-pointers. The Tar Heels’ Caleb Love (18 of 50) and Brady Manek (19 of 40) have combined to attempt just one fewer 3-pointer than the entire Kansas team during the NCAA Tournament. UNC (10 of 26) outscored Duke (5 of 22) by 15 points from beyond the arc in an 81-77 victory in the second semifinal.

• But the Jayhawks’ focus on shot quality more than volume. They’re making 40.6 percent of their 3-pointers in the tournament, and on Saturday they matched Villanova’s 13 treys while attempting seven fewer (24 to Villanova’s 31). The Tar Heels are shooting 36 percent on 3-pointers.

• Bacot left Saturday’s game briefly because of an ankle injury but finished the game. Davis said Bacot, who had 11 points and 21 rebounds against Duke, would participate in the Tar Heels’ “very limited” practice Sunday and play Monday.

• Bacot will be matched against David McCormack, who had 25 points and nine rebounds against Villanova.

• Kansas didn’t know its opponent until after 10 p.m. Saturday, the same time that UNC knew it would be playing in the title game.