The second-seeded Jayhawks (31-6) will play Ohio State on Saturday in their first Final Four appearance since winning the 2008 national championship.
Taylor led five Jayhawks in double figures. Player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Johnson kept up his blistering pace in the NCAA tournament with 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:07 to play that sparked Kansas’ 12-0 run to end the game.
Jeff Withey made two monster blocks to deny the Tar Heels during the run — including one that set up a big three-point play by Taylor.
James Michael McAdoo scored 15 for the Tar Heels (32-6), who played better in their second game without injured point guard Kendall Marshall. But North Carolina couldn’t overcome a 5:46 field goal drought to end the Midwest Regional final.
SOUTH REGIONAL
In Atlanta, Top-seeded Kentucky cruised into the Final Four for the second year in a row, blitzing Baylor with a dominating first half in the South Regional final.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 19 points and the Wildcats (36-2) took control with an early 16-0 run. Kentucky led 42-22 at halftime and Baylor (30-8) never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Anthony Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Terrence Jones was all over the place with nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals — most of it in the first 10 minutes.
Kentucky will face state rival Louisville in the NCAA semifinals at New Orleans on Saturday. The Wildcats will be seeking their first national title since 1998.
Quincy Acy led Baylor with 22 points. The Bears were eliminated in the regional final for the second time in three years.
