The men’s basketball National Championship between three seeded Texas Tech and one seeded Virginia will be played tonight and it will conclude the 2018-2019 college basketball season.

How each team got here:

Texas Tech- Finished the regular season with a 26-5 record. Lost to West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament. Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game. Beat Northern Kentucky 72-57 in first round, beat Buffalo 78-58 to advance to the Sweet 16, beat Michigan 63-44 to advance to the Elite 8, beat Gonzaga 75-69 to advance to the Final Four, and lastly defeated Michigan State 61-51 to advance to the National Title game. Texas Tech has used a suffocating defense to dominate the tournament so far. Culver has been outstanding offensively (minus the Michigan State game) and defensively. Graduate transfer senior Mike Mooney has broken this tournament and has provided a great secondary scorer for the Red Raiders. Tech also has one of the best coaches in the country as Chris Beard was named NCAA Coach of the Year.

Virginia- The Cavaliers finished the regular season 29-2. Lost to Florida State in ACC tournament. Junior guard Kyle Guy lead the team’s scoring with 15.2 points per game. The Cavaliers beat Gardner-Webb 71-56 in the first round, beat Oklahoma 63-51 to advance to the Sweet 16, beat Oregon 53-49 to advance to the Elite 8, beat Purdue 80-75 to advance to the Final Four and beat Auburn 63-62 to advance to the title game. Virginia had the easiest path to the Final Four and narrowly escaped with wins in their last 3 games. The Cavaliers look to go from zeros to heroes following their first round exit last year to 16th seeded UMBC. The Cavaliers also are a defense minded team and they have one of the best defenses in the country.

Prediction: Texas Tech upsets Virginia, winning 61-51. The Tech defense will be swarming the Virginia offense all game and hold them to their lowest point total of the tournament.