MINNEAPOLIS — For years, the Virginia Cavaliers were accused of boring their opponents into defeat. They guarded relentlessly. They milked offensive possessions. They celebrated shot clock violations the way other programs celebrate alley-oop dunks.
Their critics, who were legion and included pretty much every major talking head who wasn’t a former basketball coach, claimed the Cavaliers played a style that couldn’t possibly win six consecutive NCAA tournament games. And given what happened last year, those critics seemed to have a point.
Yet as Monday bleeds into Tuesday, Virginia guard Ty Jerome sits at his locker wearing a new white hat.