Kansas vs. Miami score, takeaways: Jayhawks rout Hurricanes, head to Final Four as only remaining No. 1 seed

Kansas trailed at halftime, but dominated the second half to win the Midwest Regional on Sunday

There won't be a Final Four without a No. 1 seed this year as No. 1 Kansas used a strong second half to erase a halftime deficit and ultimately put away No. 10 Miami 76-50 in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday. The Jayhawks (32-6) are headed to their fourth Final Four under coach Bill Self, and their first since 2018. The opponent in 2022 is the same as it was then, with Kansas taking on Villanova at 6:09 p.m. ET Saturday in New Orleans.

Kansas has struggled in the Elite Eight under Self, going 3-5 before Sunday's win. And with Kameron McGusty scoring 14 first-half points, it looked like another rough regional final outing was in store for the Jayhawks. Kansas led 27-26 before Miami (26-10) ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 35-29 halftime advantage.

Kansas didn't waste much time erasing that edge in the second half. Christian Braun's 3-pointer -- Kansas' first of the game -- with 15:27 remaining broke a 40-all tie. About five minutes later, Ochai Agbaji's own 3-pointer pushed the lead into double digits at 12. Miami never cut that lead back to single digits again.

Five Jayhawks scored at least nine points, led by Agbaji, who broke out of his recent slump with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and he added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. McGusty finished with 18 points to lead the Hurricanes.

Here now are some takeaways from Kansas' victory in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday. 

Kansas' second-half dominance

How did Kansas produce the biggest margin of victory in an Elite Eight game since 1992*?

"We were locked in defensively the second half," Self said in his postgame interview with CBS.

And then some. The Jayhawks showed a virtuoso defensive effort in the first half of the Sweet 16, holding Providence to 17 points, the Friars' fewest ever in a tournament game. And they were somehow even better against Miami in the second half as Kansas held Miami to just 15 second-half points and 0.417 points per possession.

That's some journey for the Jayhawks this year; after the ESPN Events Invitational, Self blasted his team's defense and said that his players lacked killer instinct on that end. But thanks to that killer instinct, and Kansas making better than 59% of its second half shots, it won the second half 47-15.

"It's a special year for me and my family obviously, with my dad passing," Self said. "That was his motto: 'Don't worry about the mules, just load the wagon.' And the guys didn't really worry about the distractions of what was going on in the first half, they just played the second half."

*The 1992 Elite Eight actually saw two bigger blowouts. Cincinnati blasted Memphis State by 31 points at 88-57, while Indiana rolled UCLA by 27 points at 106-79.

Agbaji back on track

Kansas' first-team All-America selection hadn't been the same player since returning from COVID-19, averaging 16.4 points per game and shooting just 40.1% from the floor and 29.4% from behind the 3-point arc. In three NCAA Tournament games, he'd been even worse, averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting 33.3% from the floor and 15.4% from 3.

To put that into perspective, before the illness, Agbaji averaged 20.9 points per contest, shot 51.5% from the floor and 46.4% from 3.

That's what made his showing against Miami important if Kansas wants to cement itself as a legitimate national championship contender. Agbaji scored his 18 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting, and he made both of his 3-point attempts while also impacting the game in other areas.

Kansas has gotten a terrific boost from the return of Remy Martin, who gassed the Jayhawks up in the final two games of the Big 12 Tournament, then led Kansas in scoring in each of the first three NCAA Tournament games. But with Martin scoring nine points in 24 minutes on Sunday, the Jayhawks were able to tap back into Agbaji for some big points.

Miami's run ends, but a foundation remains

The Hurricanes were terrific for three and a half games this NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 7 seed USC by two, than scoring double-digit wins over No. 2 Auburn and No. 11 Iowa State. Then Miami rode McGusty's hot hand to a six-point halftime lead against the Jayhawks.

But things went wrong in the second half. Kansas put a lid on the basket and Sam Waardenburg quickly found himself in foul trouble (then fouled out), leaving the Hurricanes without a great option to deter Kansas' runs at the rim and without their best 3-point shooter to boot.

The bad news is that at least two of the architects of Miami's run, McGusty and Charlie Moore, have exhausted their eligibility. Though a senior, Waardenburg could technically take his COVID-19 season next year and decide to return. But, at least at this point, it looks somewhat likely that all three could be out the door.

But Miami coach Jim Larrañaga might not face a total rebuild. Isaiah Wong has shown star potential, and freshman guard Bensley Joseph had his moments. Add in another year for players like Jordan Miller and Anthony Walker, and Larrañaga has a solid base before hitting the transfer portal, or the arrival of the nation's No. 17 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.