History Of NCAA Tournament Matchups Between Kansas & North Carolina

It’s been high stakes nearly every time Kansas and North Carolina have met in the NCAA Tournament, and Monday will be no different. The Jayhawks and Tar Heels will clash in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in their history and just the second time in the National Championship. We look at the postseason history between these two that dates back more than 60 years.

North Carolina 54, Kansas 53 (3OT) – March 23, 1957

NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain is the familiar face in this matchup, but he could not stop North Carolina from winning their first-ever National Championship. It was the first time the two programs had ever met in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas 79, North Carolina 73 – March 30, 1991

Current North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis led all scorers in this Final Four matchup with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as the top-seeded Tar Heels fell to Kansas. It may be an area of revenge for Davis in Monday’s big game against the Jayhawks.

North Carolina 78, Kansas 68 – April 3, 1993

The two met yet again at the Final Four two seasons later, where the Tar Heels took care of business this time. It would send them to the National Championship game, where they would defeat Michigan on their way to a third title.

Kansas 84, North Carolina 66 – April 5, 2008

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams fell to his former program when Kansas knocked off the Tar Heels on their way to a National Championship. The Jayhawks led wire-to-wire and dominated the game in every facet.

Kansas 80, North Carolina 67 – March 25, 2012

Every Kansas starter found double figures in scoring on this night, where the Jayhawks yet again ended North Carolina’s season, this time in the Elite Eight. It marked the program’s 14th Final Four in school history, where they would eventually fall short in the national final to Kentucky.

Kansas 70, North Carolina 58 – March 24, 2013

The blue-bloods would find each other yet again the very next season in the Round of 32, where Kansas would knock out North Carolina for the third consecutive March Madness meeting. It’s their most recent NCAA Tournament matchup.

North Carolina vs. Kansas – April 4, 2022

And the table is now set for them to meet again in New Orleans. First-year head coach Hubert Davis has improbably led his eighth-seeded Tar Heels into the National Championship game, where Bill Self and Kansas are hoping to win a national title for the first time since that 2008 season.