SAN ANTONIO -- Any win at the Final Four is terrific. But for the Kansas Jayhawks and their fans, it just doesn't get any sweeter than a win against North Carolina and coach Roy Williams.

Kansas moved on to the national championship game against Memphis tomorrow night by putting an 84-66 licking on the Tar Heels at the Alamodome last night. It was especially satisfying for the Kansas people because they have felt betrayed since Williams left after 15 seasons at Kansas to take the North Carolina job in 2003.

Junior guard Brandon Rush made sure Kansas got a healthy dose of revenge with 25 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn't easy.

North Carolina, which trailed by 28 points -- 40-12 -- with five minutes to go in the first half, closed the margin to 54-50 with 11:15 remaining in the game before the Jayhawks regained control.

"That was three different games," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "The first game, we were great. The second game, we weren't very good and they were great. Then the last game, obviously, we played super down the stretch."

Three-time All-American Tyler Hansbrough -- The Associated Press' Player of the Year -- had 17 points and nine rebounds for North Carolina but wasn't a factor.

"It was a total team effort against him," said Kansas center Cole Aldrich, who covered Hansbrough much of the night. "You can't guard him one-on-one. He's just too good."

This one should have been over long before halftime, thanks to Kansas' stunning 25-2 run that turned a 15-10 lead into that gaping 40-12 margin. At one point as the Jayhawks were delivering that apparent knockout punch, the Alamodome scoreboard told the horrible truth for North Carolina: Kansas was shooting 72 percent from the field, North Carolina 27 percent.

"That was the best 15 minutes I've ever had a team play," Self said. "That was a pleasure for me to watch."

And a nightmare for Williams.

"We came out a little more casual than we would have liked and they hit us right between the eyes," Williams said. "They were something early."

But the Tar Heels went down fighting. After pulling within 44-27 at the half, they went on a 23-10 run to open the second half to make it, 54-50, when Wayne Ellington made a layup.

But that was as close as the spent North Carolina team could get. Rush and Darnell Jackson scored consecutive layups for Kansas to nudge the lead back to 58-50 and start the Jayhawks on a 30-16 run to close the game.

It also started the countdown to a massive Midwest celebration.

A celebration that almost certainly still is going on at Ol' Roy's expense.

"This is a big-time loss and a big-time disappointment for us," Williams said. "This bunch did a lot of great, great things, but their dreams were bigger than this. It hurts right now."