MITCH LIGHTFOOT

David McCormack’s late inside baskets to help Kansas surge past North Carolina in the NCAA championship game followed a Final Four trend.

North Carolina has an effective inside/outside combo in Armando Bacot and Caleb Love.

Kansas coach Bill Self finds himself in the same spot that longtime North Carolina coach Dean Smith once did.

“But," Self cautioned, "I would say that talent plus experience is what wins.”Good luck finding a team more experienced than Kansas. — Mitch Lightfoot will play in his 167th game and second Final Four after making it with the Jayhawks in 2018. In fact, the Jayhawks' top eight scorers have appeared in 965 games — almost certainly a record for a Final Four team. “You've got older teams and they are maybe not good enough (players) to go to the NBA, but they’re really good, talented players who can make a difference. “Older teams that have been playing together are usually more experienced than kids who are 17, 18 years old.”Four of those older teams are the last one standing in New Orleans this week.

Exactly 10 years after a bunch of one-and-done phenoms for Kentucky cut down the nets in the Big Easy, there is a much more old-school feel to this year’s Final Four.

B12 West Virginia Kansas Basketball Kansas guard Christian Braun celebrates after a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. — (AP) — Ochai Agbaji led sixth-ranked Kansas with 18 points, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins picked up two technical fouls and was ejected 10 minutes into the game, and the Jayhawks cruised past the Mountaineers 87-63 on Thursday in the Big 12 Tournament. Malik Curry led West Virginia ( 16-17) with 19 points. Most of the excitement in the Big 12 Tournament's second quarterfinal came in the first 10 minutes. UP NEXTThe Jayhawks meet the Horned Frogs, who have never played for a Big 12 title, in Friday night's semifinals.

Ochai Agbaji led sixth-ranked Kansas with 18 points in a 87-63 victory over West Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas avoided a regular-season sweep by TCU, winning Thursday in the Jayhawks’ latest Big 12 Conference matchup.

Kentucky Kansas Basketball Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler (2) passes under pressure from Kansas forward Mitch Lightfoot (44) and guard Bobby Pettiford (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Lawrence, Kan. Kentucky won 80-62. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll for the second straight week, while Kentucky jumped into the top five for the first time in more than two years. This marks the highest ranking for Kentucky since the 2019-20 season, when the Wildcats spent one week at No. 25 after earning the program's first AP Top 25 ranking since March 2015. __Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Auburn remains No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the second straight week.

13 Texas Tech on Monday night. Texas Tech (15-3, 5-3) got 17 points from Kevin Obanor and 15 for Davion Warren. After Texas Tech trimmed the deficit to 3 points, Kansas went on an 8-0 run to grab its first double-digit lead of the game. After Kansas grabbed its biggest lead of the game at 70-58, Texas Tech scored the next six points to start a 17-5 run to close regulation. Texas Tech hosts Mississippi State while Kansas hosts No.

Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 37 points to help No. 5 Kansas avenge its only conference loss of the season with a 94-91 double overtime win over No. 13 Texas Tech. Agbaji outdueled Bryson Williams, who poured in 33 points for Tech. Kansas led by one in the second overtime when Williams banked in a 3-pointer.

A Tennessee college hoops star signs $2 million deal with tech company. Experts say the money game has just begun.

14 Texas Tech 58-57 on Thursday night, giving the Jayhawks a win in their conference opener for the 30th season in a row. Texas Tech (6-2, 0-1) had one more opportunity, with coach Chris Beard calling a timeout with 6.2 seconds left to set up a final play. Mac McClung led Texas Tech with a season-high 21 points, the third 20-point game this season for the transfer from Georgetown. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders had only seven turnovers and forced 16 Kansas turnovers, and had 16 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds. Texas Tech plays at Oklahoma on Tuesday night.