Cavaliers, Red Raiders gear up for national championship fight

No. 1 Virginia (34-3) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech (31-6),
Minneapolis, 9:20 p.m., CBS

Get your defibrillator back out.

Are you ready for one more round of Virginia basketball?

One more heart-pounding finish? The Cavaliers blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of Saturday's Final Four game against Auburn, but recovered just in time for a 63-62 win in Minneapolis.

Kyle Guy and the rest of the 'Hoos provided Virginia with its own version of the Minneapolis Miracle. It didn't need to be like that. UVa was cruising with five minutes left in the game, and then

things fell apart. But the collapse led to the most clutch free throws in UVa basketball history, and Guy was the perfect guy to have at the line. To relive the closing moments again, check out my full recap over at HoosPlace.com.

Now, in its third trip to the Final Four, Virginia is making its first appearance in the national championship. In the Wahoos' way for ultimate glory and the complete storybook ending to this

Texas Tech coach Chris Beard, who is just 46
and in his third season in Lubbock, quickly turned
the Red Raiders into a force in the Big 12.

season are the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, also in their first title game. Like UVa, Texas Tech is built on tough, hard-nosed defense and has one of the best young coaches in the nation in Chris Beard. Anything that doesn't end up being a slugfest would surprise experts and fans alike. Here's more on the Red Raiders:

Record: 31-6, 14-4 Big 12, tied for first
Coach: Beard, seventh year, 172-60; third at Texas Tech, 76-30
Scorers in double figures: Sophomore 6-foot-5 guard Jarrett Culver (18.6), sophomore 6-2 guard Davide Moretti (11.4), senior 6-3 guard Matt Mooney (11.3)
Leading rebounders: Culver (6.3), senior 6-10 forward Tariq Owens (5.8), senior 6-8 center Norense Odiase (5.3), sophomore 6-5 forward DeShawn Corprew (3.4), Mooney (3.2)
Assist leaders: Culver (3.7), Mooney (3.3), Moretti (2.5)
Notable: Eight Red Raiders average double-figure minutes, and five players score at least four points per game: Owens (8.8), senior 6-5 guard Brandone Francis (6.2), freshman 6-3 guard Kyler Edwards (5.3), Corprew (5.1), Odiase (4.1). Mooney averages 1.8 steals, Culver 1.5, and Moretti 1.1. Owens blocks 2.5 shots per game, and Odiase about one.
Win streak: Five; blew out No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky, 72-57, in the first round, crushed No. 6 seed Buffalo, 78-58, in the second round, took down No. 2 seed Michigan, 63-44, in the Sweet 16, edged No. 1 seed Gonzaga, 75-69, in the Elite Eight, and held off No. 2 seed Michigan State, 61-51, in the Final Four
Best win: the Gonzaga win
Worst win: Oklahoma State at home 84-80; the Cowboys finished 12-20
Other wins: Incarnate Word, Mississippi Valley State, Southeast Louisiana, USC, Nebraska, Northern Colorado, Memphis, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Northwestern State, Abilene Christian, Texas

Rio Grande Valley, West Virginia (twice, road, home), Oklahoma (twice), Kansas (home), Kansas State (home), Texas (twice), Arkansas, TCU (twice), Baylor (home), Oklahoma State, Iowa State (road)
Best loss: No. 3 Duke, 69-58, in New York
Worst loss: West Virginia, 79-74, in Big 12 tournament quarterfinals. The Mountaineers finished 15-21.
Other losses: Iowa State (home), Baylor (road), Kansas State (road), Kansas (road)
Common opponents with UVa: Duke (11-point loss; Virginia two- and 10-point losses), Oklahoma (seven- and 12-point wins; Virginia 12-point win)
Note: Some of the below numbers are taken from Texas Tech's athletics site. Those are updated through the four NCAA tournament games. Normally, I take stats from NCAA.com. The problem I've ran into is not all of NCAA.com's stats are updated through all the tourney games. What I've done is slot Texas Tech's rankings for these stats based on the newest numbers. Keep in mind, though, this does not take into account new stats for other teams, whose rankings would change accordingly. But you should get a good idea of where the Red Raiders stand.
What Texas Tech does well: If you follow college basketball even a little bit outside of UVa, you probably have an idea of which teams have the best defenses. The Red Raiders are in that group, and they are in fact Ken Pomeroy's No. 1-rated defense. Virginia is rated fifth. The Red Raiders are giving up 83.3 points per 100 possessions, while UVa gives up 88.7. Michigan is slotted second at 86.2, so Texas Tech is almost three full points clear of the Wolverines. Overall, Texas Tech gives up 58.8 ppg (third) and field goal percentages of 36.8 from the field (tied for first with Houston) and 29.3 on 3-pointers (10th). The Red Raiders pick up 7.4 steals per game (22nd) and force teams into 15.5 turnovers per game (30th). They also average 4.9 blocked shots (15th). Texas Tech isn't all about

Jarrett Culver leads a sneaky-good Texas Tech
offensive attack that flies under the radar
because of how much attention the team's
defense receives.

defense. The offense is pretty good, rating 28th on Ken Pom (Virginia is third, Auburn was sixth). The Red Raiders shoot 47 percent from the field (50th) and 36.6 percent from beyond the arc (67th). They are a little off on free throws but still pretty good at 72.9 percent (100th), and they take a decent number, 666 through March's games (tied, 124th).
What Texas Tech doesn't do well: Texas Tech's ballhandling is a little shaky. The Red Raiders tally averages of 12.1 turnovers (98th), 13.8 assists (137th), and an assist-turnover ratio of 1.1 (about 120th). They are solid on the glass but not overly strong with a +1.5 rebound margin per game (about 130th). Their defense is more aggressive than Virginia's, and as such, they have committed 627 fouls as of the end of March (270th). It's not surprising, but Texas Tech's pace is fairly slow, and it only scores 72.6 ppg (167th). But we know how pace can make an offense look not as good as it is.

UVa does not often have to figure out how is it going to score on itself. This is about as close to solving that puzzle as the Cavaliers are ever going to need to get.

Texas Tech's defense, described as an "attacking defense that will push ballhandlers back and angle them to the side with a variety of switches and traps," and an "active, swarming, relentess half-court scheme," is the real deal. Its points-allowed-per-100-possessions figure is better than any of UVa's teams under Bennett. Not just this season's -- any. Let that sink in for a moment. The Red Raiders' past three victims, Michigan, Gonzaga, and Michigan State, went a combined 15 for 69 on 3-pointers

Michigan State was just the latest team to find out
that facing Texas Tech's defense is nothing
short of a nightmare.

(21.7 percent). Gonzaga scored almost 20 fewer points than its season average (69) and no other NCAA tournament opponent has scored 60 on the Red Raiders.

Virginia has gone for large stretches in this tournament not looking great on offense. So that really worries me. What can the Cavaliers do to score the ball?

There are a couple rays of hope. According to the preview at HoosPlace.com, Texas Tech ranked just 191st in defensive rebounding. The Raiders' most recent loss came to a subpar West Virginia team, and the Mountaineers grabbed 17 offensive boards. We know UVa does not like to crash the glass hard, but with the team still not shooting great from distance in this tournament, perhaps Tony Bennett can decide to be a little more aggressive on the offensive glass. If it is going to be that hard to score against Texas Tech in the half court, maybe tip-ins or looks off broken plays following rebounds is just what's needed.

Be aggressive. Virginia will need to get out of its comfort zone to win. I've already suggested increasing the commitment to offensive rebounding could be a good idea. Also, UVa does not take many free throws. We know this. But Texas Tech does foul a fair amount. Could Virginia get up near at least 15 free throw attempts by taking the ball to the rim more than occasionally? De'Andre Hunter has been struggling all tournament with his jump shot. But look at what happened at the beginning of the second half against Auburn. He attacked the basket, and Virginia went from down three to taking the lead within a matter of a couple of minutes. There aren't many guys that can stop a focused, aggressive Hunter going to the basket. And then, if the guys can get some whistles, the free throws

Davide Moretti is Texas Tech's
leading 3-point shooter.

must absolutely be made. No doubt about it. The 'Hoos escaped Saturday going 6 for 12 from the line, but I doubt they can be as lucky against such a good defensive team in a game where every point will matter. Lay-ups and free throws, they have to be converted at a high clip. That's all there is to it.

Hunter must be locked in. Too often, he just seems to lack focus or the killer's eye. This guy is one of the best players in the country, but it seems like he doesn't know how good he can be sometimes. Time to step and prove yourself on the biggest stage. We know a beast is in there. Go all out, leave it on the floor. The difference in Hunter's look was quick and apparent three times in the NCAA tournament: the second half against Gardner-Webb, the final minute or so in overtime against Purdue, and the second half vs. Auburn, at least for the first few minutes. Be that guy. Hunter might have to be that version of himself for Virginia to pull this off.

What else might the Cavaliers have to do to win the championship that could be deemed a little out of ordinary? What about this: Earth to Jay Huff. Are you there? Huff has played one minute in the past three games. He did not play at all against Auburn. He recorded five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes against Oklahoma. I trust Bennett, of course. He's built an amazing program. But this is still a question that perplexes me: Why isn't Huff playing more? Bennett has said he's been getting

better at defense and rebounding all season. He played significant time in several ACC games. We

With a victory Monday night, Tony Bennett
could leave a club that probably isn't that fun:
great coaches who have not won a national title.

know what he can do on offense. If the offense is struggling mightily, and especially if UVa is down, put him in. He can change the complexion of the game. Give Texas Tech something to think about, something to make it uncomfortable, and that "thing" is a 7-foot-1 giraffe who can shoot 3s pretty well and also is able to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket for a dunk in seemingly two giant steps from the 3-point line. Bennett may have to reach into his bench and try it if the offense is bogging down too much. I don't want Bennett feeling like he didn't at least try something. Bennett has kept a tight rotation in the Big Dance. Small rotation, Big Dance. But he might have to reach deeper into the bag of tricks to taste victory Monday.

I don't think Texas Tech's offense can run away with this game. I have a healthy respect for it, but, knock on wood, I doubt the Red Raiders are explosive enough to score a ton of points on what is, of course, also a great UVa defense. Texas Tech's best 3-point shooters are Moretti (45.8 percent on 153 attempts), Edwards (43.9 percent on 66 tries), Corprew (40.8 percent on 49 shots), Mooney (38.8 percent on 121 attempts), Francis (32.8 percent on 125 tries), and Culver (31.6 percent on 155 shots). The Red Raiders don't take a ton of 3s, sitting at 729 (182nd).

Culver is the Red Raiders' best all-around player. Like Hunter, he is a projected NBA draft lottery pick. Their matchup will be a great one to watch. Who tries to assume control of the game and makes a move to take over? Can either one do it? Hunter has three inches on him, so that would be a good matchup on defense for the 'Hoos. Moretti is just 6-2, so that also works in Virginia's favor. He's not a guy that will be able to get clean looks off over height.

Owens hurt his ankle against MSU, but reentered the game. He did not practice Sunday but is expected to play. Obviously, if he is not 100 percent, that's a boost to Virginia's chances. Against the

Each of the Big Three has played well at times
in the NCAA tournament. But they haven't all been
clicking at the same time, and UVa has yet to play
a complete game. It might take that to get the job
done against Texas Tech and earn the program's first
national championship.

Spartans, Mooney led the team with 22 points. He made 4 of his 8 3s and was 8 of 16 overall. Culver finished with 10 points and scored six late, but was just 3 of 12 from the field. Francis had nine points off the bench. Owens recorded seven points, four boards, and three blocks. Odiase had nine rebounds.

Culver struggled against Sparty, but he's averaging 19.2 points and 6.4 boards in the dance.

Virginia has yet to play a complete game in this tournament. The home displays vs. Virginia Tech and Florida State, the majority of the UNC game, second halves at Louisville, Syracuse, and against N.C. State in the ACC tourney -- is Virginia capable of looking that good again? I've believed for almost the entire season that UVa's best is probably the best "best" in the country, and I think that makes sense. Who is going to beat the 'Hoos when they are on their A game? No one can. When Virginia has been off this season, games have been close. Duke went off from beyond the arc in Charlottesville. UVa couldn't hit any deep shots at Cameron. And against FSU in Charlotte, the team just wasn't right. But playing at or near its best, no one can touch this team, and that includes Texas Tech.

But we haven't seen those Cavaliers in a while. If there's ever a time for one of those performances again, UVa needs it now. Texas Tech provides unique challenges with its defense. But Virginia has the capability of being very, very good on offense, too. It just needs to show it. It'll be uncomfortable at times. This game is bound to be ugly. Bennett might have to be flexible and think outside the box. It might be 25-20 Texas Tech at the half, or 19-18 UVa.  The guys have just got to keep grinding, just as they have all year. Never give up -- just look at the odds that were overcome against Purdue and Auburn. If they can bounce back from the devastating UMBC defeat, they can figure out a way to unravel this Red Raiders defense.

The time for analysis is over. It's time to play the game. I just want the 'Hoos to have no regrets, have fun, and leave it all on the floor. It is cliche, but so true. This team is amazing and has already brought such great joy to Bennett, the city of Charlottesville, students, alumni, and fans around the globe. They've been the best team in the country all season. It's time to prove that once again on the big stage.

Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.