The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final game of the

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

to determine the men's

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(NCAA) Division I

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national champion for the 2018–19 season. The game was played on April 8, 2019, at U.S. Bank Stadium in

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, between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. It was the first time since

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

that both teams in the national championship game were making their first such appearance. The Cavaliers defeated the Red Raiders, 85–77 in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

, to win their first national title. Kyle Guy was named the

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

Participants

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech, led by third-year head coach

Chris Beard Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's coach at University of Mississippi ( Ole Miss). He also previously served as head coach at Texas, Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, a ...

, finished the regular season with a record of 26–5. They posted a 14–4 conference record, earning them the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament, where they lost to No. 10 seed

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in their first game. In the NCAA Tournament, the Red Raiders received a No. 3 seed in the West Regional. They defeated No. 14 seed

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is an urban area in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky consisting of the southern part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The three main counties of the area are Boone County, Kentucky, Boone, Kent ...

and No. 6 seed Buffalo to reach the Sweet Sixteen, where they upset No. 2 seed

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

by nineteen points. Two days later, they defeated No. 1 seed Gonzaga to win the West Regional. In their first Final Four, the Red Raiders overcame a challenge from the East Regional champions, No. 2 seed

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, whom they defeated 61–51 to reach their first ever NCAA title game. Jarrett Culver, a sophomore, was named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

Virginia Cavaliers

The Cavaliers were coming off a year they had gone from an unranked team all the way to AP No. 1, only to become the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Led by tenth-year head coach

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Virginia finished the regular season with a record of 28–2. They posted a 16–2 conference record, earning them the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, where they defeated No. 8 seed NC State, before losing to No. 4 seed

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. In the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers earned a No. 1 seed in the South Regional. The Cavaliers defeated No. 16 seed and NCAA tournament debutants Gardner–Webb in the first round, and No. 9 seed

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they ended a potential

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run from No. 12 seed

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. In the Elite Eight, the Cavs beat No. 3

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in overtime; with the win, they advanced to their first Final Four since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. They then defeated No. 5 seed Auburn, champions of the Midwest Regional, by a single point. De'Andre Hunter, a redshirt sophomore, was named

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

Starting lineups

Game summary

Texas Tech did not score its first field goal until 7:22 into the game. The Red Raiders took the lead, 25–24, with 3:57 left in the first half. Virginia's Ty Jerome hit a

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

with less than two seconds left in the first half, to give Virginia a 32–29 lead over Texas Tech at

halftime In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

. Virginia kept the lead for much of the second half, but Texas Tech stayed in the game and took the lead, until De'Andre Hunter of Virginia hit a game-tying three point shot with 12.9 seconds left in regulation. Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver attempted a three-point shot to win the game, but the shot was blocked by Virginia's Braxton Key, and time expired. Texas Tech outscored Virginia 39–36 in the second half, resulting in a 68–68 tie at the end of regulation. The game went into a five-minute

. Matt Mooney of Texas Tech opened overtime with two baskets, including a three-pointer, but Virginia then went on an 11–0 scoring run. Virginia ran out the clock to secure the win with a final score of 85–77. After the game, Virginia's Kyle Guy was chosen as the

. Hunter finished the game with a career-high 27 points. Culver, meanwhile, struggled during the game while primarily defended by Hunter (

) and scored 15 points while shooting 5-for-22 (.227), including 0-for-6 on three point shots.

References

{{2019 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball navbox

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...