2020 College Basketball Odds: Virginia Favored to Repeat as National Champions
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Braxton Key #2 of the Virginia Cavaliers cuts the net down after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Fresh off their first men's basketball championship, the Virginia Cavaliers are early favorites to win the 2019-20 Division I national title.
Per the newly released odds from Caesars Palace, Virginia is a +500 favorite (bet $100 to win $500) to repeat as champions. Kentucky and Duke (both at +800), Gonzaga (+1000) and Michigan State (+1200) round out the top five:
It speaks to how well head coach Tony Bennett has built UVA's basketball program over the past 10 seasons that it would be favored to win a title over those heavyweights, especially with the possibility of losing DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome to the NBA draft.
One thing Bennett does well is find players who fit his defense-oriented system. The Cavaliers don't usually win the recruiting wars—their 2019 class ranks 34th in the nation, per247Sports—but they've won at least 29 games in five of the past six seasons.
One surprise contender on the list is Villanova at +1500. Last year's champs had a brutal transition after losing their top four scorers from 2017-18. The Wildcats finished this season 26-10 and won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles before losing to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright has his teamranked fourthin the 2019 recruiting rankings, though he again has to replace his top two scorers after Phil Booth and Eric Paschall graduate.
Kentucky and Duke are two programs that traditionally finish high in the recruiting rankings. The Wildcats are currently the only team with three 5-star commitments for next season, per247Sports.
Winning the recruiting wars doesn't guarantee tournament success. Duke wassupposed to havethe best incoming class of 2018-19, but the team was knocked out in the Elite Eight by Michigan State.
Kentucky's 2013-14 class with Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young and Dakari Johnson isconsidered by some to be the best freshman class ever. That group lost to Connecticut in the national title game.
A lot of these odds will likely change as next season gets closer and rosters come into focus after draft-eligible players announce their intentions.
Joy of National Title Even Sweeter for Kyle Guy, Virginia After UMBC Heartbreak
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Guy kept tugging on the brim of his hat, as if he wanted to make sure he was really wearing it. He found teammate Ty Jerome on the confetti-covered court, and they put their arms around each other. With Jerome by his side, Guy took his hat off and read those golden letters again: 2019 NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. He looked at the Virginia logo right beneath those words and smiled in disbelief. He shook his head and then put the hat right back where it belonged.
The junior from Indianapolis moved through the next few moments, the stuff of dreams, as if he were sleepwalking. He climbed the on-court dais with his teammates and, when asked, told CBS' Jim Nantz how much he respects Texas Tech's program. He told Westwood One radio how proud he was of his teammates. He didn't even seem to notice when the Final Four all-tournament team was announced and he was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, an honor he capped with 24 points and four three-pointers in the final. His teammates called him to climb the ladder and cut his piece of the net. Having completed the task, he pumped his fist three times to the Virginia faithful who had stayed until almost midnight to celebrate Virginia's 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech and a long-awaited national title.
If anyone could be the living embodiment of what Virginia has been through the last year, it was Guy.
Last spring, after Virginia lost to No. 16 seed UMBC in the opening round, he had buried his face in his hands at the buzzer and choked back tears during postgame interviews—interviews he had only agreed to do so that the seniors on the team, the ones who wouldn't be able to avenge the loss, wouldn't have to end their careers in public humiliation.
The next day, he returned to campus with his head hung low and his hoodie on. His fiancee, Alexa Jenkins, skipped a week of classes at DePauw University to be with him. He spent the next week talking to her until he ran out of words. "When you're going through something like that, you have to keep talking and keep talking until it doesn't hurt as much anymore," she said. "I let him talk until he didn't need to talk anymore."
Monday night, it was Alexa who was on the brink of tears.
Moments after watching the "One Shining Moment" montage with his teammates back on the dais, Guy wiped the confetti from his hands like sand at the beach and found Alexa. He put his arm around her and held her hand before sprinting back to the locker room. As she watched him run away, her left arm half out of her hoodie from where he'd held her, she ran through the emotions of the last year. "I don't know how to explain it," she said. "He was beaten down [last year]. Really discouraged. But it doesn't matter anymore now, does it?"
Kyle Guy shares a moment with his fiancee (and Tiki Barber) following the national title game. pic.twitter.com/9EYh6ceLuM
Guy eventually came to embrace Virginia's historic loss, the first by a men's No. 1 seed to a No. 16 seed. He changed his Twitter avatar to a shot of his hands on his knees while UMBC players in the background celebrated. He changed his phone's background to another shot from that night. He wrote letters to himself on his laptop. He watched Will Smith motivational videos and TED Talks. And he reread The Alchemist, a book he'd first come across before the UMBC game but which came to mean something so much more after it. He wanted to redeem the win with this championship, but more than that, he wanted the loss to stay with him as a reminder that every experience is an opportunity to become a better person.
"I try to use every single experience I've been through to help me through hard times or good times or any times," he said now. "I think that UMBC is the greatest life lesson I've ever learned."
Without that loss, he wasn't sure he would have come up with the courage to reveal publicly that he had long struggled with anxiety, something he did before this tournament by posting a pair of letters he'd written to himself before and after that game. And without the loss, he wasn't sure that these Cavaliers would have had the resolve to make this NCAA tournament run.
Against Gardner-Webb in the first round, they trailed by as many as 14 points before bouncing back for a 15-point victory. They beat Oklahoma by 12 and Oregon by four. And then, the true tests came. They trailed Purdue by three with five seconds left and won in overtime. They trailed Auburn by four with 17 seconds left and won in regulation thanks to three clutch free throws from Guy. And they trailed Texas Tech by three with 12 seconds left but still took home the title in overtime.
"Every time that we were down or the momentum was changing," Guy said, "I could just feel in my heart and in my head that this wasn't how it ended. I think a lot of the team felt the same way—that we were going to find a way to win no matter what."
After the win over Texas Tech, Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett described the UMBC loss as a scar that doesn't go away completely. "Is the pain gone?" he asked. "I still feel a little 'eh,' because I remember that feeling. But I think we're OK." Guy went even further. Earlier this week, he said that even a national championship couldn't change the fact that the UMBC loss was the best thing that had ever happened to him, besides getting engaged to Alexa.
On his way out of the stadium, with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder and the piece of net sticking out of his hat, he's asked to re-rank those life experiences in light of what he's just accomplished. "The best things ever to happen to me?" he asked. "No. 1 is getting engaged, and it's not even close. No. 2 is UMBC. And No. 3 is the national championship.
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers takes a moment of repose before their game against the UMBC Retrievers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte,
"All year, we kept saying, 'If we use this adversity right, it would buy us a ticket to a place we couldn't have gone any other way.' Without that loss, maybe we don't win the championship."
Guy's work in this stadium was almost done. He turned the corner toward the loading dock and walked toward the charter bus. He threw his bag in and began to walk around the front to climb aboard on the other side. And then he noticed something and stopped mid-stride. The bus had already gotten a new custom wrapping that read 2019 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS right after the Virginia logo. He took a photo with his phone and lingered for a second longer, just staring at the words. More than anyone, Kyle Guy knew what it took to make those words a reality.
Virginia Parade 2019: Route, Date, Time, TV Schedule, Live Stream and More
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Virginia Cavaliers celebrate their teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
One year after they became the first top-seeded team to lose to a No. 16 seed, the Virginia Cavaliers gave their fans reason to celebrate like never before.
Following an 85-77 overtime victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA tournament title game, Virginia announced it will be celebrate its first men's basketball championship Saturday.
It may not have been easy, but Virginia earned redemption.
History appeared to be on the verge of repeating itself early as Virginia fell behind 16th-seeded Gardner-Webb by 14 in the first half of its tournament opener. However, a strong second half helped the Cavaliers avoid another historic loss.
Following a 12-point victory over ninth-seeded Oklahoma in the second round, Virginia outlasted 12th-seeded Oregon for a 53-49 victory in the Sweet 16.
And while the Cavaliers were just seconds away from elimination against Purdue in the Elite Eight, they forced overtime at the buzzer and pulled out a stunning 80-75 victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QvO-6f8uwc
The drama was far from over, though.
Virginia used a controversial no-call on a double dribble and a foul on a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to beat the fifth-seeded Auburn Tigers in the Final Four, 63-62.
That set the stage for Monday's closing theatrics.
Although the Cavaliers controlled much of the title game and even led by as many as nine in the second half, they trailed the Red Raiders by three late. That's when De'Andre Hunter became the latest player to etch himself into Virginia lore as he knocked down the game-tying triple with 12.9 seconds to play.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, it marked the sixth time that a title-winner won multiple overtime games in a single NCAA tournament. ESPN Stats & Info also noted that the Cavaliers became just the fourth team to cut down the nets after being knocked out in the Round of 64 the previous year.
It marked the program's third Final Four and its first since 1984. Virginia had never appeared in a national championship game before 2019.
Tony Bennett's squad won a school-record 35 games while claiming a share of the ACC regular-season title. Both Hunter and junior guard Kyle Guy earned third-team All-America honors.
Video: Watch UVA Students Go Wild Celebrating NCAA Title Win in Charlottesville
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A Virginia Cavaliers fan holds a sign after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
It was a night to remember in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team won its first-ever national championship on Monday.
While the Cavaliers captured an 85-77 overtime victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Minneapolis, fans on the campus back home were more than ready to celebrate:
What a difference a year makes, as this comes after Virginia became the first top-seeded squad to lose to a 16 seed in 2018.
Virginia's Journey to 2019 National Title Is a Once-in-a-Lifetime Sports Moment
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS — De’Andre Hunter did not play in last season’s NCAA tournament with his teammates, tending to a broken wrist, but he felt what his teammates felt: all summer, all fall, all winter, all spring.
Failure.
He had to hear about it. See it. Feel it.
No. 1 seed Virginia loses to No. 16 seed UMBC in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
But Monday night, Hunter would score and sprint and show up time and time again to lift his team to accomplish something that no college basketball team may ever accomplish again in the span of one year: bounce back from losing to a No. 16 seed to win the national championship.
“We embraced it. We didn’t run away from it,” says Hunter, who had a career-high 27 points. “We just embraced all those questions, all the media who questioned our team. We just did what we had to do.”
Hunter hit big-time threes at the end of regulation and in overtime to help Virginia beat Texas Tech 85-77 to win its first-ever national title. He was so poised, so clutch, so confident, so aggressive in the second half of regulation and down the stretch when the two teams were trading baskets that it’s hard to pick just one of his moments. He hit mid-range shots. And-1 putbacks. More threes.
At one point, treading back on defense, Hunter smiled, and then his face shrunk to deadpan serious. He shook his head three times with a look that said, There’s no way in hell we’re losing this game.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates his three point basket basket late in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S.
Not after everything they endured up to this point. Humiliation. Despair. Fear. Dejection. Angst that kept each player up at night. That kept each player in the gym. More shots, more discipline.
Each player knew they would not be able to quiet anyone until they…did it.
“We had a chip on our shoulder and that’s what we carried for the whole year,” says Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite. “Every time that we were down a few seconds before the end of the game, we didn’t worry about the score or the time. We just kept being focused and executed well.”
They pushed past a resilient Red Raiders team that refused to quit. Every time Virginia stole the momentum, Texas Tech took it back seconds later. It was riveting. Powerful. Beautiful. Loud. Intense. Exciting.
Everything you’d want in a national championship basketball game.
Everything no one thought this national championship game would be.
But that was fitting. The Cavaliers did what no one thought they could do. Did what no one liked that they do: play fundamentally sound, methodical, fingertip-to-fingertip basketball, pass-pass-pass for the best shot and sit down, slide and contest every shot.
“I’ve never seen a more mentally tough team,” says Texas Tech coach Chris Beard.
Every player played his part, not just Hunter. It was Kyle Guy, pummeling his way to the hoop, somehow finding a way to score, finishing with 24 points as the Most Outstanding Player. It was Diakite’s critical block in overtime, his relentless protection of the rim inside, doing the dirty work that doesn’t always get praised. It was Ty Jerome, who never looked worried when he caught the ball, faced the basket. He just held on. Just wanted to outlast Texas Tech.
“We have a saying, ‘the most faithful win,’ and these guys stayed so faithful,” says Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. “Obviously, we had some amazing plays. This is about the young men. They made the plays, they did the stuff. Coaches get too much credit when it goes well and they get too much blame when it goes bad. These young men deserve this championship.”
They remained poised every time the Red Raiders came firing back. When Brandone Francis hit another clutch shot. When Jarrett Culver hit a key spin-around layup in the lane. When Coach Beard waved his arms in the air, inciting the crowd to become its loudest. Hell, even when big man Tariq Owens, playing on a painful sprained ankle, rose up and threw down a monstrous two-handed dunk, Virginia looked calm. Been-through-too-much calm.
Last year’s loss against UMBC, and the loss to Florida the year before that in the NCAA second round, prepared Virginia to be that calm. The sting, the embarrassment of both losses taught them that.
That’s the thing about basketball: Players play to win, sure. But they also play not to lose. To not get embarrassed. From the moment they pick up a ball in pickup or on grade-school teams, they learn early: Never get embarrassed. Never let anyone see weakness. And never back down.
So they didn’t, all tournament, when games came down to the waning seconds against Purdue and against Auburn, and now Texas Tech.
Monday night, the Cavaliers worked for every bucket. Worked for every defensive stop. The Red Raiders spilled their guts out onto the floor. Every time you thought they were out of it, they were in it.
They did not play like they were lucky to be there. They earned the right to be there, with a coach who encouraged a blue-collar mentality on defense that oozed out of every player every time they touched the floor.
Virginia did, too, playing the kind of basketball that many call boring, that many say isn’t exciting. Fake a pass before you make a pass. Crisp cuts. Charges. Offensive rebounds. Extra passes. Making contact with the offensive player before leaping for a board. Being under control as you close out on a shooter, dipping down low to slide so they don’t blow by you. Having your palm face the right direction in the passing lane so to most efficiently snag the deflection.
These details aren’t glamorous. Fun. Exciting. But they matter. And they just produced a championship run like we've never seen before and probably won't see again.
Mirin Fader is a writer-at-large forB/R Mag. She's written for theOrange County Register, espnW.com, SI.com andSlam. Her work has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the Los Angeles Press Club. Follow her on Twitter:@MirinFader.
Video: Tony Bennett on UVA's National Championship: 'This Is a Great Story'
The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball coach referenced Rocky, discussed the ups and downs his team experienced going from the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in the Big Dance to national champions and gave credit to his players when discussing Monday's 85-77 overtime victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the national title game:
"I got a poster of Rocky on the steps and I told them: I just want a chance at the title fight one day."
Three players in particular stood out, as De'Andre Hunter (27 points and seven boards), Kyle Guy (24 points) and Ty Jerome (16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds) were brilliant for extended stretches in the back-and-forth contest.
Hunter saved the season with a game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and then hit the three that put the Cavaliers ahead for good in the extra period.
As if that wasn't enough, Hunter provided head-turning defense on Texas Tech star and potential top-five draft pick Jarrett Culver. He helped hold Culver to 5-of-22 shooting from the field, ensuring the playmaker didn't go into takeover mode with the game hanging in the balance.
Thanks to that effort, Virginia's "great story" ended with the ACC school cutting down the nets.
Virginia vs. Texas Tech: 2019 NCAA Championship Score and Celebration Highlights
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Virginia Cavaliers celebrate their teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
One year ago, the Virginia Cavaliers were the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. Now, they're champions for the first time in men's program history.
Virginia defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 85-77 in Monday's 2019 NCAA men's basketball national championship game.
With 12.9 seconds left in regulation, De'Andre Hunter hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 68 and send it to overtime. Hunter stepped up big again in overtime, connecting from long range to put Virginia ahead 75-73 with 2:10 remaining.
From there, Virginia pulled away. Braxton Key put an exclamation point on the victory with a breakaway two-handed jam.
Given what they went through in 2018, the Cavaliers players were understandably emotional after the final buzzer.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 9, 2019
Ty Jerome finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds. The junior guard sought out some of his family members in the stands when the game ended.
Hunter led all scorers with 27 points, adding nine rebounds to an excellent all-around effort. He definitely earned the piece of the net he saved from U.S. Bank Stadium.
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) April 9, 2019
Kyle Guy took home Final Four's Most Outstanding Player honors. He had 24 points and three rebounds on Monday night and also sank the decisive free throws in Virginia's semifinal win over the Auburn Tigers. The images from the last two tournaments certainly presented a stark contrast for Guy.
CBS Sports shared Tony Bennett's postgame comments. The Virginia head coach recounted how he drew inspiration from the movie Rocky and used the film as a source of motivation for his players. Bennett also put the finishing touches on the 2019 tournament bracket, placing Virginia's sticker in the space reserved for the national champion.
“When they come into my office I got a poster of Rocky on the steps. And I told them, I just want a chance at a title fight one day.”@UVAMensHoops head coach Tony Bennett explains his feelings on winning a National Championship to Jim Nantz. pic.twitter.com/eNvJTeLOAL
Beyond just the sting of last year's opening-round loss to the UMBC Retrievers, Bennett has faced numerous questions about whether his defense-first approach was holding back the Cavaliers in the tournament. Despite enjoying a lot of success in the regular season, Virginia had just one Elite Eight appearance in Bennett's first nine seasons.
This title is an emphatic statement as to Bennett's tactical acumen.
And with only one senior (Jack Salt) on the roster, Virginia might be right back in the Final Four in 2020.
UVA's Kyle Guy Named 2019 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player
Apr 9, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrate his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
The No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers captured their first men's NCAA national championship by defeating No. 3 Texas Tech 85-77 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Monday night.
Additionally, junior guard Kyle Guy will travel back to Charlottesville with something he couldn't have dreamed to add to his wedding registry, as he was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Without Guy, the Hoos would not have advanced to the title game. In Virginia's Final Four matchup with No. 5 Auburn on Saturday, he earned a foul while shooting a last-ditch three-pointer with one second remaining.
Virginia trailed Auburn 62-60, but the 2016 IndyStar Mr. Basketball stepped to the line with ice in his veins and made all three free throws to send his squad through.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 9, 2019
Guy was the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 15.2 points prior to the title game, but still entered the Final Four +400 to win Most Outstanding Player.
Arguments could be made for two of Guy's teammates as this year's Most Outstanding Player, which just illustrates the strength of Virginia as a whole.
Monday night, sophomore swingman De'Andre Hunter led all scorers with 27 after he entered halftime with just five points. It was Hunter's corner three with 12 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 68 and forced an overtime period.
Junior guard Ty Jerome was a consistent producer throughout this tournament run and posted 21 points on 50 percent shooting against Auburn, narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Against Texas Tech, Jerome nailed a three at the halftime buzzer to give Virginia some swagger and a 32-29 lead. He finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2019
Guy, Hunter and Jerome were all named to the 2019 All-Tournament Team alongside Texas Tech's Matt Mooney and Jarrett Culver.
Beyond the box scores, Guy has emerged as the Hoos' leader on the court, coming up poised in the biggest moments and keeping the Cavaliers even-keeled during scoring droughts. However, his demeanor this year was built through the devastation of his team becoming the first-ever No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed last year.
SB Nation's Anna Katherine Clemmons detailed Guy's anxiety throughout last season and wrote about how the aftermath of Virginia's loss to No. 16 UMBC on March 16, 2018, exacerbated it:
"The challenges and triumphs of UVA's redemptive season have meant accepting that his basketball journey is no longer his own. There's no fix for the fact that so many people have invested their emotions into how he and the Cavaliers perform, but he can help himself as best he can.
"'Since last year was so rough for me, I approached this year differently,' Guy says. 'I'm taking more of a business aspect. This is my job, I want to use it as a vehicle to success. I still have love for it, but there's more days that are hard for me to get through than there used to be in basketball.'
"Mentally, that progression has been steady. After a summer of healing, ... Guy has found himself in a much better place."
After Monday night, Guy hopefully can find more joy in his 2018-19 efforts. He, his teammates and head coach Tony Bennett are now immortalized in Hoos history forever.
Video: UVA's Kyle Guy Hits Texas Tech with the Step-Back Before Draining Jumper
Apr 8, 2019
BR Video
Both the Virginia Cavaliers and Texas Tech Red Raiders were in a position that difficult shots would be needed in Monday’s national championship game, and Kyle Guy delivered with one while doing his best James Harden impersonation.
Guy drilled a step-back jumper in the early going of the clash in Minneapolis to give his Cavaliers some breathing room.
Considering that Texas Tech is No. 1 and Virginia is No. 5 in KenPom's pace-adjusted defensive rankings, converting contested shots like that could be the difference in the game.
Calmly hitting clutch shots is nothing new for Guy, who made all three free throws with 0.6 seconds left in Saturday's Final Four win over the Auburn Tigers to propel Virginia into the title game.
Virginia Comes Up Clutch in Controversial Win to Bury Painful Tourney Memories
Apr 6, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts after defeating the Auburn Tigers 63-62 during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS — In the span of a few seconds, Kyle Guy went from mourning to celebrating.
He missed a three-pointer with time expiring and buried his face in his jersey. The nightmare that had so haunted his team for a year—the stunning loss to No. 16 seed UMBC—was about to come alive again.
And then it didn't. Auburn's Samir Doughty had fouled Guy on his attempt, sending Guy to the free-throw line with 0.6 seconds on the clock.
Three free throws to right last year's wrong.
Three free throws to avoid a meltdown that was happening in this game's final few minutes.
Three free throws to create a different storyline than: Virginia gonna Virginia.
"Pressure" does not come close to describing what it feels like to step to the free-throw line and have to make three straight—including one after a timeout. There is no adjective, no metaphor, to describe what anyone in that situation feels. How shaky your hands are when the ball is bounced. How bulletproof your belief in yourself has to be.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers attempts a game-winning three point basket as he is fouled by Samir Doughty #10 of the Auburn Tigers in the second half during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium
"I was terrified," Guy said. "But I had confidence in myself."
He calmly hit all three to win the game that many did not believe Virginia should have won. The boos howled throughout U.S. Bank Stadium long after the ball left Guy's fingertips, and long after the buzzer sounded for Virginia, 63-62.
"Controversial or not, we got the win," said Guy, who finished with 15 points and nailed a clutch three with 6.5 seconds left to pull the Cavaliers within one.
The foul on Guy's shot wasn't the only source of controversy. Even those who firmly believe the referees made the correct call on that play have to concede that Virginia's Ty Jerome should have been whistled for a double dribble seconds earlier, which almost certainly would have given Auburn a victory.
Tony Bennett, his coach, perhaps summed up the wild finish best: "Survive and advance. I guess that's taken on new meaning."
Depending who you were rooting for, the final few minutes contained either a Virginia collapse or an Auburn comeback. Virginia blew a 10-point lead, but Auburn showed newfound urgency.
The Tigers had been floundering at the three-point line, seemingly unwilling to try a different strategy. Everyone was waiting for them to make a run. Waiting for them to try something different, as their three-point shooting woes continued.
And then Bryce Brown took over the game.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers celebrates in the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Street
He hit three clutch shots to give Auburn a two-point lead, clapping his hands after the third, turning to the crowd and yelling, "Let's go!" Auburn seemed like it would win.
This is the best part of basketball: how a game can change within a matter of seconds, of minutes. How momentum can be stolen so easily, lost so quickly. The fifth-seeded Tigers, underdogs in the game, were about to advance.
And then they didn't.
Brown, who finished with 12 points, sat just above the three-point line with his head tucked down, his arms hugged across his knees. He was stunned.
As was Virginia last year.
All tournament, the Cavaliers have been asked about their stunning loss to UMBC. As the No. 1 seed, how painful was that loss? How much did that hurt? What did you learn? How are you determined to have a different outcome? How good does it feel to have broken the curse?
And on and on and on.
But lost in the shuffle of questions has been an earlier defeat. A loss that was painful and humiliating and instructive on its own: Virginia's 65-39 second-round loss to Florida in 2016-17. That game, Virginia couldn't buy a bucket. Florida couldn't stop making them, at one point going on a 21-0 run.
That is the game Jerome thinks about. Even now. He had zero points in that one. He was a freshman, and he played like one. But he learned things from all 17 minutes he was on that floor. Things he took with him to Minneapolis this week.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates in the second half against the Auburn Tigers during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pen
"Not many people remember [that game]," Jerome said. "We've been embarrassed in March, and that gives us a little extra chip on our shoulder, some extra motivation. We just know how tough it is to play and succeed in this month.
"So when you've been through battles, and you're battle-tested," Jerome said, "I think it's an advantage coming into March."
Saturday, facing off against Auburn, Jerome had the advantage. No more embarrassment. His jumper with 5:24 left ballooned the Cavaliers' lead to 10. For most of the game, he had his way—even dribbled between his legs, took a bump in the lane and hit a (prayer) runner just before the shot clock was to expire midway through the second half.
He finished with 21 points—13 of them coming in the first half.
De'Andre Hunter chipped in 14. His steady play to start the second half seemed like a calming force for his teammates. And he cleaned up the glass, too. "They're athletic, and they're quick, but De'Andre really did the things we needed," Bennett said.
The lessons from Florida, the lessons from UMBC, allowed Virginia to do exactly what it wanted to do in the first half: maintain control; spin Auburn out of control.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers dribbles against Horace Spencer #0 of the Auburn Tigers in the first half during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minn
The Cavaliers made their layups. Didn't force shots. Came off screens shoulder to shoulder. They just played solid basketball.
In other words: Bennett Ball.
They executed because they know what it feels like to not execute.
"It's been a long journey," said Mamadi Diakite, who had a game-high five blocks. "[UMBC] was a learning experience. It was hard to digest for a few months. After that, we sort of got back to what Virginia does. We didn't worry about what was going on outside of the perimeter. We kept working."
The Cavaliers held the Tigers, a team known for three-point shooting, to 29 percent from long range. Just 9-of-31. At one point in the first half, Auburn was shooting 9 percent. Virginia's defense made every shot tough. Every look was contested. Often uncomfortable. Most of all, Virginia slowed Auburn. Didn't let the Tigers get into their transition-oriented style of basketball.
"This will be a memorable game, and I'd like it to be remembered for a great game," said Bruce Pearl, Auburn's coach. Let's not remember this game because of how it ended. Let's remember two teams that played really hard that only had 13 turnovers combined, didn't shoot it very well because there was great defense."
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Austin Wiley #50 of the Auburn Tigers reacts in the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Penn
Now, as the Cavaliers have the chance to win their first national championship, they will once again draw from past lessons.
After the game, Bennett reflected on that Florida loss. He remembers huddling by his players with a few minutes left. "I huddled down by them. I said, 'This is going to change. It's OK, but take note of this. We're going to do this.'"
And then, after the UMBC loss the following year, there was Bennett again, reassuring his guys to stay the course: "We need to go through this, and we need to go through next year together. We need each other."
Even if Guy had not knocked down his free throws, even if Virginia had lost on Saturday, Bennett's message would've been the same: "I would have been so thankful for what they've done for this program and our bond through this all."
Mirin Fader is a writer-at-large forB/R Mag. She's written for theOrange County Register, espnW.com, SI.com andSlam. Her work has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the Los Angeles Press Club. Follow her on Twitter:@MirinFader.
