Virginia turns the tables on Texas Tech to win its first national championship
MINNEAPOLIS — Texas Tech knew it could be looking in the mirror in Monday’s National Championship game with Virginia as its opposition.
The Red Raiders had already done it once when it played another defensive team, Michigan in the Sweet 16.
But Monday two of the best defensive teams in the country turned in a surprisingly offensive game with the trophy on the line.
And the Cavaliers beat Texas Tech at its own game.
Texas Tech coach Chris Beard consoles guard Jarrett Culver after losing to Virginia in the 2019 NCAA tournament national title game. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)
The blueprint the Red Raiders had used in numerous games during its march to championship Monday, was the same design that ended their journey to a title.
Virginia came out and threw the first punch in a close game after halftime.
And then threw another, a perfect duplication of the methods the Red Raiders used to strangle foes over the last three weekends.
The Cavaliers turned a game that was tied in the final seconds of the first half into a nine-point lead before fans had even settled back into their seats after a halftime soda and a popcorn run.
Though the Red Raiders eventually fought back, something a Chris Beard-led team is expected to do, playing catch up throughout the second half may have taken a toll.
Tariq Owens fouled out with 5:46 to play and Virginia no longer feared attacking the rim. Doing so without Owens allowed the Cavaliers to get to the line 23 times in the game, including 12 in overtime.
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And when the game was on the line, Virginia was fearless as Tony Bennett decided against calling a timeout and let his team play through with seconds dwindling trailing by three, 68-65.
The play ended with the other likely NBA lottery pick in the game, De’Andre Hunter nailing a 3-pointer on a perfect kick-out from Ty Jerome to tie the game.
While Texas Tech’s lottery pick Jarrett Culver had carried the Red Raiders at times, if not Matt Mooney or Davide Moretti, it was Hunter that donned Superman’s cape on Monday.
The 6-7 guard from Philadelphia was just as quiet as Culver in the first half but went 7-8 — including 4 for 4 from long distance — for 22 points in the second half and overtime.
His 27-point night led both teams, and if not for Kyle Guy’s 24 points, Hunter might have been named Most Outstanding Player.
In the overtime, Mooney gave Texas Tech an immediate lift with five straight points but Virginia's top-ranked scoring defense answered.
The Cavaliers' defense was suffocating, forcing five straight Red Raiders misses to go on an 8-0 run that won the school its first national championship.
The shots that Brandone Francis, Moretti, Culver and Mooney had made in five straight wins, suddenly were off the mark.
Time and again it had been Texas Tech that choked out its opponent, sapping its will, but Monday it was Virginia's grip that wouldn't let the Red Raiders loose.
After being beaten in the style that his team had used so effectively in March, Beard acknowledged the margin between elation and devastation was miniscule.
“The different between winning and losing is, you know,” said Beard making a small pinching gesture with his fingers, “between national champions and sitting here with the pain of my life. Give Virginia credit, though. They keep talking ‘team of destiny’ but they are really good. They always give themselves a chance.
“Every season ends like this except for one team. Always my whole life, I’ve wanted to be that one team that ended with a win. We were so close tonight, but we’ll just get back up tomorrow, keep working at it and get there one day."
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