Matt Mooney started the overtime off hot – after Virginia’s Hunter hit a couple free throws, Mooney drilled a three-pointer and a tough jumper in the lane to give the Red Raiders a 73-70 lead. And then the Virginia Cavaliers went on a 11-0 run to run away with the title.

Kyle Guy started the scoring off after getting fouled on a drive to cut the lead to 1. Then, DeAndre Hunter hit yet another three pointer from the sideline to get the lead to 2 points.

Mooney missed a three pointer to try to take the lead with 1 minute 40 seconds, and Jerome missed his shot after draining another 30 seconds off the clock. As the rebound gets tipped out, it gets chased out all the way to the Texas Tech side of the court. Davide Moretti got to the ball first but Hunter knocks the ball out of bounds off Moretti’s hand to get the ball back.

This time after draining the clock, Jerome got fouled driving to the basket and hit two free throws to extend the lead to 4. And that was it – each missed shot by the Red Raiders led to two more free throws for the Cavaliers. Even when Texas Tech finally scored with 16 seconds, Virginia finds Braxton Key all alone for a breakaway dunk.

So the Cavaliers continue to add dramatics to the tournament. With 17 seconds left in the Elite 8, they were down 3 to Purdue before the heroics from Mamadi Diakite. With 17 seconds left in the Final Four, they were down 4 to Auburn before the heroics from Kyle Guy. And with 17 seconds left tonight, they were down 3 to Texas Tech before the heroics from DeAndre Hunter.

Can you remember a team that was able to overcome so much as this Virginia Cavaliers team? Remember, my obsession on the Purdue game suggested that teams up 3 that late in the game win at least 92 percent of the time. So, at 8 percent per game, the probability of coming back from down 3 in the last seconds three straight games is 0.05%.

But would you expect anything less from a team that had the most historic loss in the history of the tournament when they lost last year to #16 seed UMBC. Well, the Cavaliers might not be able to erase history but they can write their own – and this history will remember the Virginia Cavaliers as the 2019 NCAA National Champions.

Congratulations to the Virginia Cavaliers!!!!!! They have won their first ever National Championship – they refused to lose despite the odds.