Adjustments earn Self second national title with Jayhawks

NEW ORLEANS » Bill Self won his elusive second national title with a masterful second-half coaching job and a spicy dash of Remy Martin.

Befuddled by North Carolina in an ugly first half, Kansas tightened up defensively and Martin provided the spark in a dazzling second half in the Jayhawks’ 72-69 win over North Carolina on Monday night.

The Jayhawks (34-6) started fast and faded even faster to fall into a 15-point hole by halftime. They roared back behind Self’s adjustments, setting a record for biggest halftime comeback in championship game history.

Self inverted his team’s post play after trying to jam the ball into David Mccormack in the first half, getting a couple of early post-ups for Christian Braun (12 points) to open the second.

With North Carolina big man Armando Bacot away from the rim instead of protecting it, the Jayhawks found more driving lanes to shoot or kick out to the perimeter.

Kansas also got back to what it does best: Run.

Triggered by their defense, the Jayhawks got out in transition for layups and early offense during an opening 18-4 run, finding the offensive rhythm that went missing in the first half.

Kansas swarmed Bacot inside after a dominating first half — 12 points and 10 rebounds — shut off driving lanes and tipped passes to put the Tar Heels (2910) on their heels.

Martin added the spice.

The Pac-12’s leading scorer last season, he left Arizona State after four seasons for a chance to win a national title. Martin had an up-and-down season marred by injuries and his final collegiate game mirrored his whole year.

Forcing the issue in the first half, Martin shot 1 of 5 and had Self yelling at him to pass the ball.

The good Remy showed up in the second half, taking the Jayhawks’ already-humming offense to another level.

He scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, finishing 4 of 6 from 3.

Martin’s shooting and the Jayhawks’ transition game cleared space for Mccormack, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

It was quite a turnaround from an ugly first half.