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Kansas vs North Carolina: Interwined histories made both college blue bloods

Kansas and North Carolina have long, successful histories that have intertwined over eight decades. The end result is that both are firmly recognized as college basketball blue bloods.

Kansas vs Noorth Carolina - 2022 National Championship game - Dajuan Harris Jr. (3), Puff Johnson (14), KJ Adams (24) | Tom Pennington/GettyImages

In 1952, the Kansas basketball team won its first NCAA National Championship. That team was, of course, coached by Phog Allen, the inventor of basketball coaching. On that team was a seldom-used junior guard named Dean Smith.