David J. Phillip/Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — A year after exiting the court as a picture of embarrassment, the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in the men’s N.C.A.A. tournament, Virginia left wearing a crown on Monday night.
The Cavaliers defeated Texas Tech, 85-77, in overtime for the university’s first national basketball championship, which carried with it immeasurable redemption.
“Forget last year,” Virginia’s Ty Jerome said. “This is everything you think about as a kid.”
This title game was the first in 40 years between men’s teams that had never been there before.