Announcers called it the "all-time turnaround title."
On Monday night in Minneapolis, the Virginia Cavaliers took home the NCAA tournament championship title in a dramatic 85-77 overtime defeat of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
"This is a great story," said Virginia's coach, Tony Bennett in a post-game interview. "The credit goes to these young men."
It was a big comeback after last year's tournament, when the University of Virginia team
lost
As the overtime clock hit 0:00, Virginia player De'Andre Hunter – who scored a
career-high
The road to this moment was rocky for both teams. Virginia had close calls against Purdue and Auburn, and Texas Tech made it to the playoffs after losing their first conference tournament game.
But both teams showed up in full force on Monday night. So did their fans. Notable alumni from both schools came out to support their teams, including NFL quarterback and Texas Tech University alumni Patrick Mahomes, and University of Virginia-grad Katie Couric, AP
reported
At one point, a fan threw a tortilla – a Texas Tech school tradition – that landed on the elevated court, causing play to stop temporarily.
It was an evening of a few other "firsts." Both teams made their NCAA championship debuts, and the University of Virginia won it's first-ever national title at the tournament. The last time the NCAA had a first-time champion was thirteen years ago when the University of Florida
bested
And a block from Virginia sent the championship game into overtime for the first time since the University of Kansas
beat
The teams also matched a previous record – 21 combined 3-pointers in a championship game, The Associated Press
reported
At the end of the night, the NCAA
announced
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