Kansas pulled off the unthinkable on Monday night in New Orleans, storming back from a 15-point halftime deficit to down North Carolina in the men’s NCAA championship game.
In doing so, the Jayhawks made Charles Barkley extremely happy.
Barkley, who “guaranteed” a Kansas victory earlier on Monday evening, was ecstatic when Bill Self’s program had taken a 65–61 lead with less than four minutes to go. During the media timeout, he got up and danced to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”, in an attempt to get the attention of co-host and UNC alum Kenny Smith.
Despite Barkley’s efforts, Smith wasn’t having any of it, resulting in a hilarious video clip that made the rounds late on Monday night.
Barkley and Smith have had plenty of memorable on-air moments during their time in television, so Monday’s interaction is a worthy addition to their recognizable banter. Unfortunately for “The Jet”, Barkley’s latest antics will be a sour reminder of UNC’s second half collapse in the title game.
As for Kansas, Monday’s result capped off a dominant performance throughout the 2022 NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks were the only No. 1 seed to survive until the Final Four and managed to close out college basketball’s final month with a historic comeback to claim the program’s fourth-ever championship.
