The History of the Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four

The Kansas Jayhawks don't have as many appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament as North Carolin or UCLA but the Jayhawks' 13 appearances is still pretty impressive. It really won't even matter as long as Kansas goes tot he Finals and finishes this season with a National Championship. Here is a look back at their history in the Final Four.

The NCAA Tournament first began in 1939 and it wouldn't take Kansas long to make it to the Final Four. The Jayhawks were absent from the first Final but made their first appearance in 1940. They would fall in the Finals to Indiana but they quickly established themselves as one of the best programs in college basketball.

Twelve years later the Kansas Jayhawks would return to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Back then the NCAA Tournament only had two regions, East and West, but the Jayhawks did what they needed to reach the Finals and win their first National Championship. Kansas would return to the Final Four the next season and would get a rematch with Indiana in the Finals. Indiana would win again though, capturing their second National Championship.

In 1957 the Kansas Jayhawks would make it to the Finals of the NCAA Tournament once again and this time they'd be facing one of this year's other Final Four teams, North Carolina. Kansas was coming off an easy win in the Semi-Finals, while North Carolina played a triple overtime marathon against Michigan State to reach the Finals of the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels seemed to have some left in the tank though as they defeated the Jayhawks in another triple overtime game. The Kansas and North Carolina game was named the sixth best game in NCAA Tournament history by USA Today.