Texas Tech vs Virginia: Key storylines for National Championship game

Virginia and Texas Tech will meet up in the National Title game on Monday in the battle of two great defenses. What are the key storylines to the game not many people predicted would happen?

Virginia was a national title game favorite when the seasons started, Texas Tech was not. The Red Raiders were coming off an Elite Eight appearance where they lost to Villanova and thought to be pretty good, but not a contender. Virginia was trying to get past the embarrassment of losing to UMBC In the first round last year, but many still thought they would be one of the best teams in the country. But here we are with two defensive juggernauts playing for the National Championship.

Virginia got over the first round hump beating Gardner Webb after being down at halftime. They also have gotten past Purdue in overtime and a last-second foul call against Auburn. Texas Tech, on the other hand, has made easy work of almost everybody they have played. They have taken out high powered offenses in Buffalo and Gonzaga. A great defensive team in Michigan and just to add insult to injury to the state of Michigan they also took out their rivals the Spartans of Michigan State.

Both teams have locked down almost every one of their opponents and showed that defense can still win in college basketball. They play just good enough on the offensive side of the ball to win games with their defense.

Texas Tech is led by a probable lottery pick in Jarrett Culver, while the Cavaliers are led by Kyle Guy who hit three free throws in a spot every young kids dreams of to beat Auburn. We have two head coaches searching for their first national championship and two fan bases who are just getting used to being on top of the college basketball universe.

This is going to be a great defensive battle and the first one to 50 points could win the game. Both teams want to slow the pace, but the game will go by quickly so don’t blink. If you want an offensive explosion you are going to have to look somewhere else. This game will make all high school coaches have tape on how to play defense. Both these teams play as a team and don’t have any big name recruits when they came out of high school.

Sit back and enjoy a championship game you may have never seen before and might not for a long time. But it will be a great show of defense and teamwork. It should be a great game and to preview we look at the top five storylines of the championship game. Whoever wins these will be the things everyone will be talking about. Bring on Monday night, we can’t wait.