The final minute of North Carolina’s 75-73 Elite Eight win against Kentucky was nothing short of absolutely bonkers.

Just when Kentucky seemed done, North Carolina’s mistakes and the Wildcats’ clutch shooting brought Kentucky right back. With under 14 seconds to go, Kentucky had the ball down 3. The play that head coach John Calipari chose to run, though, had an eerie similarity to arguably the toughest moment of Calipari’s career. And it worked.

That play is what Kansas head coach Bill Self calls “Chop,” and it broke into the mainstream during the 2008 national title game. Kansas ran it to force overtime against Calipari’s Memphis team and won 75-68 in overtime. Look familiar?

On Sunday, Isaiah Briscoe played the role of Sherron Collins, and Malik Monk was Mario Chalmers. They ran literally the same play to the same side and got the same result — an incredible game-tying 3.

Had North Carolina’s Luke Maye not hit that winning jumper with .3 seconds remaining, we would all be discussing how Calipari brilliantly turned a play that has haunted him for years into a ticket to the Final Four.

It nearly worked out that way … until it didn’t.