Virginia Completes Comeback
Last year, the Virginia Cavaliers suffered the worst loss in the NCAA Tournament ever, losing to #16 UMBC, the first time a 1 seed had lost to a 16 seed. This year, they were 35-3 in the ACC and got to the semifinals of the ACC tournament before losing to Florida State. They got the 1 seed in the tournament and got to the Final Four where Kyle Guy hit 3 free throws to win the game against the Auburn Tigers, 63-62. They would play #3 Texas Tech who upset Michigan State in the Final Four, 61-51.
Virginia was led by shooter Kyle Guy, scorer Ty Jerome and draft prospect De’Andre Hunter. Texas Tech was led by draft prospect Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney. At halftime, Virginia led by 3 after Ty Jerome hit a 3 as the 1st half ended, 32-29. The scoring picked up, and so did De’Andre Hunter. Hunter only had 5 points at halftime, but he had 27 points by the end of the game. Jarrett Culver, the other draft prospect, had 3 points in the first half, and by the end of the game, he had 15 points. The game went to overtime, where Virginia went 14/14 from the foul line in overtime. This fueled them to a 77-85 win, their first ever championship in Program History. They went from the worst loss in the NCAA Tournament to a National Championship.
Texas Tech: Jarrett Culver had 15 points, Matt Mooney had 10 points, Davide Moretti had 15 points. Brandone Francis had 17 points, and Kyler Edwards had 12 points. The big story for Tech was that their bench carried them throughout the game, but they could not finish the game.
Virginia: Kyle Guy had 24 points, Ty Jerome had 16 points, De’Andre Hunter had 27 points to lead the game. Hunter woke up in the 2nd half and 22 points. He was ⅘ from 3, including a dagger with 2 minutes left in overtime. The big 3 for Virginia carried them throughout the game and helped them win their first National Championship in program history.
So, I hope you enjoyed today’s topic, please leave a comment on what I should cover next, and our next topic will be the NBA Playoffs, the matchups and the end of a great NBA season!
