March Madness comes to an end tonight when Virginia and Texas Tech contend for a title in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game. These programs have admirably battled their way through five games spread across three weeks to reach the conclusion of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, but only one can have its “One Shining Moment” while cutting down the last nets of the Final Four in Minneapolis. It’s shaping up to be a national title tilt for the ages, something fans certainly won’t want to miss out on watching. Before you tune in tonight, however, it’s worth finding out everything you need to know about this Cavaliers vs. Red Raiders matchup by reading this comprehensive NCAA Championship Game 2019 preview.
You can check out a recap and highlights from the journey that both programs have taken to get to the championship game, as well as a complete overview of the upcoming matchup. This includes the full schedule, tip-off start time, television channel and live stream site, as well as an updated March Madness bracket, the latest odds and betting line movements, Twitter reactions, quotes from star players and coaches, a prediction on the outcome from a pro handicapper and much more.
With that in mind, here’s what you must know about Virginia vs. Texas Tech in the 2019 NCAA Championship Game:
NCAA National Championship Game 2019 Schedule And Odds
| Matchup | Region | Time (ET) | TV | Odds | Total |
| Monday, April 8 | |||||
| No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 3 Texas Tech | South vs. West | 9:20 p.m. | CBS | UVA -1.5 | 118 |
NCAA Tournament National Championship Game will be live streamed via March Madness Live
Final Four 2019 Recap, Results and Highlights
| Matchup | Region | Odds | Result |
| No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 1 Virginia | Midwest vs. South | UVA -5.5 | UVA 63 – AUB 62 |
| No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Michigan State | West vs. East | MSU -2.5 | TTU 61 – MSU 51 |
2019 NCAA Championship Game Preview
Schedule: Virginia vs. Texas Tech tips off tonight—Monday, April 8th—at 9:20 p.m. ET. Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET.
Television: You can catch all the action on CBS, which is airing the National Championship Game again after a one-year hiatus in which the contest was moved to TBS.
Live Stream: March Madness Live has been the place to watch every game all tournament long and will live stream tonight’s NCAA Championship Game. You can watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Android handset, Android tablet, the Amazon Echo family of devices, Amazon Fire tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Gear VR, mobile web, Roku players and TV models, desktop web, Xbox One, Android TV and Oculus Go devices.
Location: The 2019 Final Four takes place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is the first year that the venue, which opened in 2016, is hosting NCAA Tournament games.
Updated March Madness Bracket: Download the latest printable bracket by clicking here. The programs competing in the 2019 NCAA National Championship Game this year navigated through the South (Virginia) and West (Texas Tech) Regions, while the Midwest (Auburn) and East (Michigan State) victors were defeated in the initial Final Four contests.
Odds: The spread for the 2019 NCAA Championship Game opened with the Cavaliers as a one-point favorite, but has since shifted to UVA -1.5. 57% of all spread bets and 64% of all public money is behind the Red Raiders. The total is currently set at 118 points, the lowest over/under in National Championship Game history, 10 points below the previous record of 128 points set by Florida and UCLA in 2006. The public is split on the total, with 50% of bets on each side. The under is receiving slightly more money at 52%.
How No. 1 Virginia (34-3) and No. 3 Texas Tech (31-6) Got Here
Lightning nearly struck twice when top-seeded Virginia went down by 14 points in the first half during its opening game against Gardner-Webb. You likely recall that the Cavaliers entered the history books in embarrassing fashion last year by becoming the first No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 when they were defeated by UMBC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It seemed it could happen again with the Bulldogs surging, but the ‘Hoos collected themselves and exploded in the second half for a double-digit victory. They parlayed that momentum into a convincing win over Oklahoma in the Round of 32, although things haven’t been easy for the school since the Sweet 16 began. Oregon, the lowest seed team to make it to the second weekend of March Madness this year, gave the Cavaliers a fight until the end, ultimately losing by four in the regional semifinal. Purdue pushed UVA to the brink in the Elite Eight, but a wild game-tying buzzer beater by Mamadi Diakite forced overtime and allowed the team to claw to its first Final Four appearance since 1984. It looked as if the run would end for Virginia there against Auburn after the Tigers erased a 10-point deficit late in the second half and were up by four with mere seconds to go. A controversial finish that culminated with Kyle Guy nailing three free throws—earned by a questionable foul call with 0.6 seconds on the clock—allowed the ‘Hoos to slip into the national title game, where they now await the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech’s journey to Minneapolis wasn’t nearly as harrowing as that of its impending foe. The Raiders flexed their defensive muscle during the first week of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, ousting Northern Kentucky and Buffalo with an average margin of victory of 17.5 points. They absolutely shut down Michigan, last year’s March Madness runner-up, in a game many thought would be a back-and-forth, defensive affair. The Wolverines only hit one of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc and had no answers for the TTU defense during a 63-44 blowout. Gonzaga presented the first real challenge for this group in the Elite Eight, although it was ultimately fruitless after the Red Raiders put the clamps on the nation’s No. 1 offense in crunch time. The Bulldogs attempted a late surge to make things interesting, but some clutch shooting down the stretch ended all hope for the West’s top seed to make the Final Four. Texas Tech matched up with a favored Michigan State opponent in Minneapolis on Saturday, once again proving that defense wins championships by consistently frustrating the Spartans throughout the contest. A sterling offensive outing from Matt Mooney—who tied a season high with 22 points—gave the Red Raiders the points they needed to get to the 2019 NCAA Championship Game.
Virginia Vs. Texas Tech - 2019 NCAA Championship Game Breakdown
Expect a defensive slugfest when the No. 3 seed Red Raiders and No. 1 seed Cavaliers take the court tonight. Virginia has been smothering opponents all season long with its plodding pace and deliberate system, one that produced a defense that comes in at No. 5 in the KenPom.com efficiency adjusted rankings. While the Wahoos have been locking teams down, no squad is better on that end of the floor than Texas Tech. This unit boasts a historically great defense, ranking No. 1 on the KenPom list by giving up just 83.3 points per 100 possessions. That is over five points better than UVA in the same category and the main reason why TTU has been able to dominate during the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The ‘Hoos do perform more consistently on the offensive side of the ball, however, scoring 122.6 points per 100 possessions, good for the third-best mark in the nation and nearly nine points more than their upcoming foe. No other team this year was able to put together an offense and defense to rank in the top five of both categories, so it should come as little surprise that this complete Virginia team was able to secure the school’s first ever berth in the national championship game.
Here’s a breakdown of all the KenPom.com stats for both sides:
Team Stats:
| TEAM | PPG | FG% | 3pT% | RPG | APG | BPG | SPG |
| UVA | 71.8 | 47.8 | 40.9 | 34.6 | 14.5 | 3.8 | 5.6 |
| TTU | 73.1 | 47.2 | 36.8 | 34.3 | 14.0 | 4.9 | 7.4 |
Head Coaching Tale of the Tape
| Coach (Team) | Years At Program | Record At Program | Total DI Years | Total Record |
| Chris Beard (Texas Tech) | 3 | 76-30 | 7 | 172-60 |
| Tony Bennett (Virginia) | 10 | 252-89 | 13 | 321-122 |
Key Players to Watch
| Virginia Cavaliers | |||||||||
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
| Kyle Guy | 35.1 | 15.2 | .446 | .425 | .825 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Ty Jerome | 33.7 | 13.5 | .438 | .401 | .730 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| De'Andre Hunter | 32.2 | 14.9 | .521 | .420 | .784 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Kihei Clark | 26.6 | 4.6 | .348 | .333 | .825 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Mamadi Diakite | 21.7 | 7.4 | .551 | .313 | .682 | 4.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Braxton Key | 19.5 | 5.6 | .434 | .310 | .723 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders | |||||||||
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
| Jarrett Culver | 32.2 | 18.6 | .471 | .316 | .703 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| Davide Moretti | 31.3 | 11.4 | .498 | .458 | .922 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| Matt Mooney | 30.7 | 11.3 | .426 | .388 | .782 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Tariq Owens | 25.5 | 8.8 | .615 | .258 | .788 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Brandone Francis | 23.7 | 6.2 | .361 | .328 | .667 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Kyler Edwards | 17.7 | 5.3 | .401 | .439 | .647 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| Norense Odiase | 17.4 | 4.1 | .585 | N/A | .619 | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
Twitter Reactions
ESPN Stats & Info found that this is the first time in 40 years that two first-time national championship contestants are meeting in the last game of the NCAA Tournament:
Texas Tech and Virginia will each be making their first-ever appearance in the title game.
It will be the first National Championship with two first-time participants since Magic Johnson's Michigan State and Larry Bird's Indiana State squared off in 1979. pic.twitter.com/md95NxBv2D
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 7, 2019
Seth Greenberg is stoked for tonight’s matchup between Texas Tech and Virginia:
I for one am really excited about tonight’s game. Two tough minded teams that know exactly who they are and how they win and play to their strengths. What’s wrong with that? @UVAMensHoops @TexasTechMBB
— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) April 8, 2019
Sports Illustrated reported that Texas Tech has cancelled all Monday night classes at the university so that students can watch their team in the national championship, as well as Tuesday’s entire slate of classes:
Texas Tech cancels classes for national championship vs Virginia https://t.co/B8NURFS82b pic.twitter.com/zMAbBB7oOK
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 8, 2019
Darren Rovell revealed that one bettor has been getting six-figure offers for his $1,500 future bet on the Red Raiders to win a title at 200-1 odds:
The man who holds this $1,500 bet on Texas Tech to win $300,000 got offers to sell this on @PropSwap today for up to $125,000. He passed. No idea on his hedge strategy, but told he does have a position on Virginia. pic.twitter.com/XOl9Ey6RAP
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 8, 2019
Jeff at BPredict reminded everyone that both Texas Tech and Virginia can score the basketball well:
Not that anybody will mention this in any of the title game previews, but Virginia had the #1 offense in the ACC and Texas Tech was #4 in the Big 12. Both of these teams can score efficiently.
Don't confuse slow tempos for bad basketball.
— Jeff (BPredict) (@BPredict) April 7, 2019
Matt Norlander noted that tonight’s victor will become the 36th unique school to win a national title:
Thirty-five schools have won the men’s NCAA Tournament.
On Monday night, there will be a 36th.
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, with the first national title in school history on the line.
Meaning: Tony Bennett or Chris Beard will win their first, too.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 7, 2019
Quotes (Courtesy of ASAP Sports)
Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard discussed the difficulty of preparing for the NCAA National Championship Game on Monday after playing in a Final Four contest on Saturday:
It's very challenging. It's kind of a unique part of our sport, but we've been here before. We've had five one-day preps this year. I think we had three one-day preps in the Big 12, playing Saturday and then Big Monday. This year was the first time since Coach Knight was in Lubbock we had three big Mondays in Lubbock. So we just rely on that experience. I think in coaching and your preseason and your nonconference, you're trying to do everything to prepare for what could happen, and we've done that…We'll just rely back on our experience. The last thing we told the team last night is we reminded them we've been in this situation before…But it's very, very difficult. No, it is kind of a staff-collaborative effort now. As you go through the tournament, you've got different guys working on different games, but now everybody in our program's working on Virginia. You know, no advantage or disadvantage either way because both teams are in it, but it is a challenge. It's different when you have a week to prepare for somebody versus one day.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett does not believe there are many similarities between his team’s defense and that of the Red Raiders aside from each being among the most effective in the country:
Defensively, Texas Tech -- no, they're different than us. They're really special defensively. I have the utmost respect for how they play, but it is a different system. I think someone said, statistically, we're two of the top five teams defensively. You can see it. They're very physical. Their ability to take your ball, and some of the -- just look at the games in the tournament and what they've done to some of the great offensive teams has been so impressive. But there's some different things. I mean, we work, and there's the similarities of what we value, but it's sort of different in that regard. They'll switch. They'll do -- they've got some different things they do
Red Raiders senior Norense Odiase was asked about which moments of the 2019 NCAA Tournament will best help his team prepare for tonight’s showdown:
Really the journey. Everything that took us to get to this point, the process, the blood, sweat, and tears that got us to this moment. If you don't take the process for granted, the long road that it took to get here, the battling with your family, with your brothers to get here. That will all pay off tomorrow. We've just got to stick to the process and do what we do best.
Cavaliers star Ty Jerome spoke about what this title game means to him and his teammates:
We know what we're in for. We know how good Texas Tech is, so we know it's going to be a dogfight. Coach always says, the joy is in the competition. So we're mostly excited to go out there and compete. We'd love to cut down the nets. I can't -- I would probably be speechless if we're able to do it. I'm sure it would mean the world to me. It's what every kid hopes for and what we work so hard for, but like Coach said, the joy is in the competition.
Pro Prediction: Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com believes that the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be crowned champs of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Check back later today for an in-depth betting breakdown of tonight’s national title bout, which will include his against the spread predictions, top prop bets and more for Virginia vs. Texas Tech.
