Kansas shifted into a triangle-and-two defense near the 8-minute mark of its 80-67 Midwest Regional final win over the Tar Heels.

“Everywhere you went, there was help defense right there and ready,” Harrison Barnes said. “I remember the one time: I caught it on the left wing, pump fake, Travis Releford goes in the air. I take one dribble and Elijah Johnson or Tyshawn Taylor is right there.”

North Carolina went scoreless over the final five minutes as the Jayhawks ended the game on 12-0 run.

“I don’t know what they were playing,” said John Henson, who had just four of his 10 points after halftime. “But they sagged the big man into the lane. And I think that really disoriented our offense.”

Barnes indicated that the North Carolina players didn’t know that the triangle-and-two scheme was part of Kansas’ defense repertoire.

“They haven’t done it in the past,” said Barnes, who finished with 13 points while missing all five of his three-point attempts. “But they tried it out against us.”