“We came down from Northern Virginia to be here,” Bacon said. “This is very special. I think the keys will be free-throw shooting and they have to make the easy shots. When you have a layup, you’ve got to make them.”
8:29 p.m.: There are no longer seats to be found. Fans began waving cellphone flashlights back and forth, as if at a concert.
“This is unbelievable,” 2005 alumnus Ben Walter said. “I am a ball of stress right now. I am so amped up. Ahhhhhh!”
8:30 p.m.: The CBS telecast comes on. Guy is shown taking his last-second 3-pointer against Auburn University and JPJ lets out a huge roar. There is also a huge eruption when Mamadi Diakite points to his finger in reference to UVA being 40 minutes from a championship.
8:43 p.m.: Pop star Katie Perry begins a performance on the telecast; JPJ goes silent.
9:03 p.m.: Commentators Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery discuss the keys to the game and highlights of Ty Jerome from the Auburn game are shown. The crowd goes nuts. On its way to a commercial, the crew kicks it to a clip of UVA head coach Tony Bennett – and you could have sworn one of the Beatles just stepped foot in JPJ.
9:11 p.m .: The national anthem concludes and a “Let’s go Wahoos!” chant breaks out.
9:15 p.m.: Nantz announces the starting lineups, but you can’t hear anything after he says, “UVA, looking for the first championship in school history.”
9:20 p.m.: The game starts and UVA forces Texas Tech into an airball at the end of the shot clock. Hunter misses a layup, but moments later Mamadi Diakite scores on a jump hook in the lane to put UVA up 2-0.
9:52 p.m.: UVA builds a 10-point lead, but the Red Raiders claw back, with a Tariq Owens dunk tying the game at 21-21 with under seven minutes to play in the half.
10:07 p.m.: In the final seconds of the first half, Hunter dishes to Jerome, who knocks down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give UVA a 32-29 lead at the break. JPJ is as loud as its been all night.
“Both teams are playing so hard,” Bennett tells CBS as he walks off the court in Minneapolis. “We just have to tighten up some things defensively.”
Back in Charlottesville, UVA fans were confident.
“Tony Bennett has this thing – his calm is contagious,” third-year UVA student Thomas Kellison said. “We’re a great second-half team. You see that in every game. I think we’re really going to be pushing it in the end here. I’m not nervous at all.”
“They handled Tech’s defense well,” said Charlottesville resident Doug McKusick, whose wife and son are UVA alumni. “They didn’t get flustered. They have to continue what they’re doing and shoot the ball well. It’s going to be tight. They have to limit turnovers in the second half and rebound.”
10:30 p.m.: The second half starts great. Guy drills a 3-pointer to put UVA up 35-29. At the other end of the court, the Hoos force Texas Tech into a turnover.
10:40 p.m.: During a commercial break and with UVA up, 42-35, the Eminem song “Lose Yourself” comes on – and that’s just what UVA fans do. They start jumping up and down and waving their phone flashlights again.
10:46 p.m.: Hunter, who had struggled in the first half, is now heating up. He confidently drills a 3-pointer from the wing to put UVA up, 50-41, with 11:45 remaining in the game.
10:50 p.m.: There is a loud cheer upon return from commercial break when CBS shows UVA legend Sampson in the crowd in Minneapolis.
11:02 p.m.: A new decibel record is set for the evening when Hunter scores off an offensive rebound as he is being fouled by Owens. Owens has fouled out of the game. Fans sing, “Na na na na … Hey hey hey … Goodbye!” Even though Owens can’t see them, UVA fans wave goodbye.
11:22 p.m.: Texas Tech takes a 65-64 lead and fans sit in stunned silence. During the timeout, they hold hands, put their arms around each other and rock back and forth.
11:23 p.m.: Jerome misses a floater and fans groan as UVA is forced to foul intentionally. However, Hunter hits a 3-pointer to tie the game at 68 with 12.5 seconds left, and the crowd erupts yet again.
11:29 p.m.: With one second remaining, Key blocks a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have won the game for Texas Tech. The game is headed to overtime.
During the commercial break, fans chant “Let’s go ’Hoos! Let’s go ’Hoos!”
“Virginia likes to keep it interesting,” Raftery says upon return from the commercial break.
11:35 p.m.: Virginia trails 73-70 in the OT before Guy calmly sinks two free throws. Hunter then hits a three and Diakite blocks a shot as the Hoos suddenly are back in the driver’s seat, up 75-73 with 1:51 left.
11:39 p.m.: Video replay overrules a call that had awarded the ball to Texas Tech and fans go bonkers. “U-V-A! U-V-A!” Just 1:06 remains.
11:41 p.m.: Jerome and Guy, sandwiched around a defensive stop, hit four straight free throws for a 79-73 lead with 31 seconds left and fans seem cautiously optimistic. After Diakite makes a free throw, CBS cuts to a shot of JPJ. This place is officially off the hook.
11:47 p.m.: Virginia wins the 2019 NCAA championship, 85-77. Jubilant fans swarm the middle of the arena and jump up and down, chanting “U-V-A!”
“I love it. Best game I’ve ever been to!” Charlottesville resident Dale Liddle said. “What an awesome game!”
“My voice is gone; I can’t even say anything,” second-year UVA student Ryan Bitisern said. “I was so nervous, but in the last minute I knew we would pull through.”
“This feels amazing,” Bre Hostetter, a 2018 alumna, said. “People kept saying our style of basketball wouldn’t work and this proves that it does! I’m just so proud.”
“Losing in the first round last year and then going all the way this year, this is just amazing,” second-year student Tykei Clark said. “The atmosphere here was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
“There was just so much love here,” second-year student Sydney Ransom said. “You could just tell that UVA really supports their sports here. It was amazing.”
“I knew they were going to do it, but I was still nervous,” said second-year Khyasia Caldwell, a member of the UVA women’s basketball team.
