Who Won March Madness Last Year: Can Defending Champion Jayhawks Repeat?

As the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region in 2022, the Kansas Jayhawks ran the table to win last year’s edition of March Madness. The title marked the fourth all-time for the Jayhawks, and second for head coach Bill Self.

Kansas opened the tournament with an 83-56 beatdown of No. 16 seed Texas Southern before defeating Creighton 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16 in Chicago.

The Jayhawks squeaked out a 66-61 win over Providence before blowing out Miami 76-50 in the regional final to advance to the Final Four.

Self’s squad handled Villanova before meeting No. 8 seed North Carolina in the national championship.

The Tar Heels took a 40-25 lead into the locker room at halftime but with the help of five players scoring in double-figures, the Jayhawks stormed back to pull out a 72-69 win.

Jalen Wilson and David McCormack had 15 points, Remy Martin had 14, and Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun chipped in 12.

Of those five key contributors, only Jalen Wilson returned to this year’s team, but the Jayhawks have barely taken a step back. Ranked sixth in the NET, Kansas leads the country with a whopping 15 Quad 1 wins, which will guarantee them a No. 1 or No. 2 seed come Selection Sunday.

As of March 1, Kansas is 25-5 overall and leads the best conference in college basketball (Big 12) with a 13-4 record.

Predictably, Wilson leads the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game, as well as rebounds with 8.3. Freshman Grady Dick has also been a key contributor, averaging 14.5 points and 5 rebounds per game.

Kansas currently has the second-best odds of winning the 2023 NCAA Tournament, as the Jayhawks are listed at +850 at DraftKings.