"It's a great story," says Virginia Cavaliers coach on the occasion of the team's return to the NCAA: NPR

Kyle Guy of Virginia is famous after helping his team defeat Texas Tech in the NCAA championship tournament. The title game ended in overtime – a first since the University of Kansas defeated the University of Memphis in 2008.

David J. Phillip / AP


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David J. Phillip / AP

Kyle Guy of Virginia is famous after helping his team defeat Texas Tech in the NCAA championship tournament. The title game ended in overtime – a first since the University of Kansas defeated the University of Memphis in 2008.

David J. Phillip / AP

Advertisers have called it the "title of the turnaround of all time".

On Monday night in Minneapolis, the Virginia Cavaliers won the NCAA Tournament Championship title with a spectacular 85-77 overtime loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

"It's a great story," said Virginia coach Tony Bennett in a post-match interview. "The credit goes to these young men."

It was a comeback after the tournament last year, when the University of Virginia team lost against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County – the first time that a # 16 player beat a No. 1 seeded team.

While the extension reached 0:00, the Virginia De's Andre Hunter – who scored 27 points, the highest score of his career – tossed the ball into the air as a sign of celebration. Confetti pleased, then the winning team cut the basketball net, in keeping with the tradition of the NCAA championship.

The road to this moment was difficult for both teams. Virginia narrowly escaped Purdue and Auburn, and Texas Tech qualified for the playoffs after losing their first game in a conference tournament.

But both teams came on Monday night. So did their fans. Notable alumni from both schools came out to support their teams, including former NFL quarterback and Texas Tech University Patrick Mahomes and Katie Couric graduate of the University of Virginia, AP, according to the AP agency. .

At one point, a fan launched a tortilla – a Texas Tech School tradition – that landed on the raised court, causing the game to temporarily stop.

It was an evening of some other "firsts". Both teams made their NCAA league debut and the University of Virginia won their first national title at the tournament. The last time the NCAA won its first title, it was thirteen years ago, when the University of Florida defeated UCLA in 2006.

And a Virginia block put the championship game in overtime for the first time since the University of Kansas beat the University of Memphis in 2008, according to NCAA.com.

The teams also tied a previous record – 21 points combined in a championship game, the Associated Press reported.

At the end of the evening, the NCAA announced the composition of the team comprised of all Final Four tournaments; Three players were selected for Virginia players – from Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, who was voted "Best Player" after scoring 24 points for the title. Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney of Texas Tech were also selected.