MINNEAPOLIS — Now that, Virginia, is the way in which to shut out a season.
And quiet these critics, too.
Led by De’Andre Hunter and his NBA-ready recreation, the Cavaliers turned themselves into nationwide champions Monday night time, holding off tenacious, ferocious Texas Tech for an 85-77 time beyond regulation win — a scintillating victory that got here 388 days after a crushing setback that may have sunk a lesser workforce for years.
But Virginia was higher than that.
A season after turning into the primary No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 — the one factor that had by no means occurred in a event the place something can — the Cavaliers watched a 10-point lead flip right into a 3-point deficit earlier than Hunter got here to the rescue. The sophomore made the game-tying Three with 12.1 seconds left in regulation, then made one other with simply over two minutes left within the further interval to present the Cavs the lead for good.
“Surreal,” Hunter referred to as it. “It’s a goal we started out with at the beginning of the season. We knew we were going to bounce back from last year. We achieved our dreams.”
After going scoreless for the primary 18 half minutes, Hunter completed with a career-high 27 factors, and if he leaves as a lottery choose — nicely, what a solution to exit.
He helped the Cavs convey house the primary NCAA title for a program with a colourful, star-crossed and, now, very profitable historical past.
Nothing got here simply — applicable given the place Virginia has been during the last 12 months, since its historical past making loss to University of Maryland-Baltimore County within the first spherical of final 12 months’s event.
Each of its 35 wins, and every of the workforce’s scant three losses, have been all punctuated by the reminder that solely the top outcome would function the last word report card on whether or not the Cavs may actually shed the luggage of final 12 months.
What a journey this was. A 1 seed as soon as once more, they fell behind by 14 early to 16th-seeded Gardner-Webb on this 12 months’s opening spherical, and a nightmare appeared to be unfolding. But this time, they overcame it. Then, they beat Purdue within the Elite Eight when the sport seemed misplaced, and did the identical in opposition to Auburn on Saturday — getting bailed out by a foul name and Kyle Guy’s three free throws with 0.6 seconds left.
“I told them, I just want a chance at a title fight one day,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett mentioned. “That’s all I want. … You’re never alone in the hills and the valleys we faced that in the last year.”
Hunter’s key Three in OT gave Virginia a 75-73 lead, and after the groups traded possessions, Tech guard Davide Moretti scrambled after a unfastened ball heading onto Virginia’s finish of the courtroom. It appeared it will be Texas Tech ball, however a replay confirmed Moretti’s pinkie finger had barely scraped the ball. Virginia obtained possession, and labored the ball into Ty Jerome, who obtained fouled and made two free throws.
Brandone Francis missed a Three on the opposite finish, and Virginia pulled away — the primary time this recreation felt remotely comfy, even after Guy made a Three to present the Cavs a 10-point lead with 10:22 left in regulation.
Guy is just not Virginia’s solely clutch free-throw shooter, by the way in which. The Cavs went 12 for 12 from the road in time beyond regulation to ice this recreation. They scored the sport’s last 11 factors.
For the Red Raiders (31-7), nicely, what are you able to say?
The workforce stuffed with ignored grinders refused to stop. They fell behind by 10 twice on this recreation — seemingly an excessive amount of in a matchup between two legendary defenses — however simply saved coming again.
Jarrett Culver, additionally lottery-pick materials, made a spinning left-handed layup over Hunter with 35 seconds left in regulation to place the Red Raiders forward 66-65, and after Jerome missed a teardrop on the opposite finish, Norense Odiase obtained fouled and made two free throws to make it 68-65.
The nation’s greatest protection couldn’t afford to surrender a 3, however Jerome skipped a go to Hunter, who was open on the wing — and noticed up and drained it. Culver missed a Three with Guy in his face with a second left, and we have been headed to time beyond regulation, the primary…