NCAA hoops writers call out tournament over Most Outstanding Player

After Kansas defeated North Carolina in Monday’s national championship, Ochai Agbaji took home NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. But some felt David McCormack should’ve won the award — and some writers took to Twitter to make their case.

One reporter, The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna tweeted some MOP awards he disagreed with. He pointed to three: Villanova star Kris Jenkins in 2016, Virginia standout De’Andre Hunter 2019 and McCormack this year. Jenkins lost out on the award to Ryan Arcidiacono and Hunter finished behind Kyle Guy.

In this year’s tournament, McCormack scored 40 points and grabbed 19 rebounds while Agbaji totaled 33 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He also hit some huge shots down the stretch to help lead Kansas to the national championship, including a floater in the final seconds to make it a three-point game. Arcidiacono and Hunter also had big moments but lost out on the award, and Fortuna broke them down.

“Jenkins hit the GW 3 … and lost to a guy with worse numbers,” Fortuna tweeted. “Hunter hit the game-tying 3, locked down Jarrett Culver … and lost to a guy with worse numbers. McCormack led/tied KU in scoring both games, scored the last 4 pts in a 3-pt win … and lost to a guy with worse numbers.”

Sporting News columnist and Big Ten Network analyst Michael DeCourcy also weighed in, calling Agbaji “deserving” of a First Team All-American, but not the tournament’s MOP.

“Ochai Agbaji is a spectacular player,” DeCourcy tweeted. “A very deserving first-team All-American. But my goodness, how does David McCormack not get Most Outstanding Player? Seriously?”

David McCormack, Ochai Agbaji lead Kansas to historic comeback to win title in wild finish

Kansas defeated North Carolina 72-69 to win the 2022 NCAA Championship Monday night in New Orleans to claim their fourth title in program history. Despite the Jayhawks turning the ball over up three points with 4.3 seconds remaining, Carolina’s Caleb Love miss a game-tying 3-pointer that helped complete the largest comeback in NCAA title game history.

North Carolina broke a late first half tie and caught Kansas sleeping on a 16-0 run that catapulted the Tar Heels to a 40-25 halftime lead. Armando Bacot, on an injured leg, notched his 31st double-double with just over a minute remaining in the half, scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds on 3-7 shooting. Bacot left the game in the final minute after rolling his ankle and didn’t return to the floor.

“We’re trying to play the way we play, but I thought we did a pretty good job of it attacking him when he’s defending on the perimeter. Jalen missed a layup right down there. And David [McCormack] had a couple of good post moves early but even had not 100 percent, he’s still pretty good,” Self said in the mid-first half interview.