The 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship ended with Virginia being crowned the national champion in Minneapolis, 85-77 in overtime over Texas Tech.
After the first half, Virginia was leading 32-29. At one point in the second half, it looked like Virginia was going to run away with the game, but Texas Tech never gave up. They cut their deficit to just one point with over three minutes left. Then, with 35.1 seconds left, Texas Tech took a 66-65 lead. But Virginia tied it 68-68 with a second left.
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After both teams took a timeout, Texas Tech had the ball for the last second. But they were unable to score and the game went to overtime, becoming the first final to reach OT since 2008. During the OT period, Virginia was a perfect 12-12 with free throws, which powered the team to an eight-point victory.
The game, broadcast on CBS, was the first championship since 1979 to include two teams vying for the title for the first time, as neither the Texas Tech Red Raiders nor the Virginia Cavaliers had won the championship before. This year also marked Virginia’s first appearance in the Final Four since 1984, and was Texas Tech’s first ever appearance in the Final Four.
Texas Tech made it to the final after beating the Auburn Tigers in 63-62 on Saturday. The game had a dramatic finish, with the referees becoming the focus after a controversial dribble no-call. Virginia guard Ty Jerome appeared to lose possession when he dribbled the basketball of his back foot with only four seconds on the clock. He picked up the ball and began dribbling again, which could have been a new possession before Auburn’s Bryce Brown fouled him.
Auburn fans and viewers at home were outraged, but Jerome shrugged off the haters.
“I knew they weren’t gonna call double-dribble after they let that (first foul attempt) go,” Jerome said Sunday, reports USA Today. “It’s hard to be a ref. They miss a lot. So you’ve got to play on.”
Moments after the dribble no-call, Virginia’s Kyle Guy was fouled while taking a three-point shot with 0.6 seconds left. Guy then made all three free throws, winning the game for the Cavaliers.
Texas Tech’s victory over Michigan State was less dramatic. The Red Raiders won 61-51 in an upset.
“We just kind of got stagnant and didn’t move things,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told reporters after the loss. “I thought it really hurt us in the first half when Aaron Henry and Nick Ward — we planned on punching it in — and they both got in foul trouble, and that kind of really, really hurt us. We gave up some defensive things.”
“Our goal has never been to make a tournament, it’s been to win the tournament,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard told NCAA.com. “Sometimes it comes off as a little bit of arrogance, but you’ve got to be willing to tell people — I’ve been telling people my whole life, I think we can in championships and play on the last night of the season. The reason I say that is not arrogance, it’s just belief in what we do on a day-to-day basis.”
Photo credit: Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
