SAN FRANCISCO, CA — With a Final Four berth on the line, No. 3 seed Texas Tech will face top-seeded Florida in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight on Saturday evening at the Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:09 p.m., with television coverage on TBS and radio broadcasts via Double T 97.3 and Westwood One Sports.
Game Information
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Matchup: No. 3 Texas Tech (28-8) vs. No. 1 Florida (33-4)
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Location: Chase Center, San Francisco, California
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Tipoff: 5:09 p.m. CDT (3:09 p.m. PDT), Saturday, March 29
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TV: TBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi)
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Radio: Westwood One (Ryan Radtke, P.J. Carlesimo), Texas Tech Sports Network (Geoff Haxton, Chris Level)
The Red Raiders (28-8) earned their spot in the West Region final after rallying from a 16-point deficit to stun No. 10 Arkansas, 85-83, in overtime on Thursday. It marks the program’s third trip to the Elite Eight and first since 2019. Florida (33-4) advanced with a convincing 87-71 victory over No. 4 Maryland in the earlier game.
Junior forward Darrion Williams emerged as the hero in Thursday’s thriller, hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left in regulation and then scoring the game-winner with 7.3 seconds remaining in overtime. He finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman guard Christian Anderson scored a career-high 22 points, including three second-half 3-pointers that kept Tech within reach. JT Toppin added 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for his 18th double-double of the season, while Federiko Federiko grabbed seven offensive boards. Kevin Overton chipped in 12 points and matched his season-high with seven rebounds.
The Red Raiders set a new NCAA Tournament program record with 51 total rebounds — 22 of them offensive — and attempted 18 more shots than Arkansas.
Through three tournament games, Williams and Toppin are each averaging 20.3 points per game. Toppin also leads the team with 10.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 69.2 percent (27-for-39) in the tournament. Anderson and Elijah Hawkins are each averaging 11.3 points, with Hawkins dishing out 22 assists against just seven turnovers.
Despite shooting just 25 percent from beyond the arc in the tournament, Texas Tech continues to find offensive balance. The Red Raiders set a program record with 361 made 3-pointers this season and average 81.3 points and 41.6 rebounds per game in March Madness.
Guard Chance McMillian remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The senior has missed all three tournament games after starting 30 contests this season. He averages 14.2 points and shoots 43.4 percent from deep.
Head coach Grant McCasland has guided Texas Tech to back-to-back NCAA appearances in his first two seasons and owns a 51-19 record in Lubbock — the best start by any coach in program history.
Nine Red Raiders had NCAA Tournament experience prior to this year, including transfers from programs such as North Carolina, Grand Canyon, Nevada, New Mexico, Pitt, and Howard.
Texas Tech is 22-21 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 1-3 against No. 1 seeds, with its lone victory coming in 2019 over Gonzaga to reach the Final Four. The Red Raiders defeated Florida 69-66 in the 2018 NCAA Second Round in Dallas, their most recent meeting. Florida holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.
Florida at a Glance
The Gators enter Saturday’s matchup with a 33-4 record and riding the momentum of Thursday’s 16-point win over Maryland. Florida shot 52 percent from the field and outscored the Terrapins 44-28 in the paint. This is the Gators’ 11th Elite Eight appearance in program history.
The winner will advance to the Final Four next weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
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