Kansas’ David McCormack Delivers in Battle of Bigs

“We had some really good possessions late, we posted C.B. a couple of times and everybody contributed, everybody played well, but when we had to have a basket, we went to big Dave and he delivered,” Self said in a television interview.

It was the third straight N.C.A.A. tournament game in which McCormack scored in double figures. He went for 15 points and 4 rebounds in the round of 8 against Miami in Chicago, and then dominated Villanova’s frontcourt to the tune of 25 points and 9 rebounds in the national semifinal on Saturday in New Orleans.

McCormack was named to the all-tournament team along with Love, Duke’s Paolo Banchero, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot and Ochai Agbaji, his Kansas teammate, who also was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four after finishing with 12 points and 3 rebounds Monday.

Entering the game, the battle between McCormack and the 6-foot-9 Bacot was seen as a critical matchup.

Bacot injured his right ankle in the national semifinal against Duke on Saturday and looked to be walking gingerly early on Monday, but he played a magnificent game on the way to a double-double, with 15 points and 15 rebounds, tying a single-season record with his 31st of the season. He was a major factor as the Tar Heels took a 40-25 halftime lead.

But Bacot managed just 3 points and 5 rebounds in the second half and exited late after aggravating his hurt ankle.

“I mean, the last 24 hours, probably 15 of them it was me just trying to get my ankle better,” Bacot said, adding that Doug Halverson, the head athletic trainer, and his staff “did a great job preparing me for this moment.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/sports/ncaabasketball/david-mccormack-kansas-unc.html