SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A miserable shooting night from beyond the arc ultimately led to a dramatic 2nd half comeback as the No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders took down No. 10 Arkansas in their Sweet 16 matchup in overtime at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night. The Red Raiders completed the second-largest comeback in NCAA Sweet 16 history with an 85-83 victory.
Darrion Williams, who struggled with shooting for most of the contest, came through for the Red Raiders in the end. He tied the game near the end of regulation to send the game to overtime before scoring the winning basket for Texas Tech in overtime with less than eight seconds to play. He made some adjustments in the 2nd half and ended up the hero.
"I feel like my threes weren't falling," Williams said in his post-game interview. "So, I just tried to get to the basket. Coach told me to stay aggressive. Nobody was mad that I was missing shots, and my teammates kept cheering me on and it worked out in the end."
Williams finished the night with 20 points on 8-26 shooting. Despite a poor performance in the 2nd half, he finally found his rhythm. Coach McCasland preaches week after week to his team that the toughest team wins. The Red Raiders proved that on Thursday night. Despite the deficit, Texas Tech came back.
"We are going to fight to the end," Williams said. "No matter the score, we could be down twenty and we will keep fighting."
Texas Tech was down by as much as 11 points in the first half before the Red Raiders managed to cut the Razorbacks' lead to seven at the half. In the 2nd half, early fouls and some turnovers handed Arkansas a 16-point lead. While the situation seemed dire, the deficit never slowed the Red Raiders down.
Christian Anderson was pivotal in the comeback. He lit fire in the 2nd half to start the comeback. Back-to-back threes from the young man cut the deficit to less than ten points before JT Toppin finally found some room to work inside. Anderson led the Red Raiders in scoring on the night with 22 points. His 22 points were the most scored by a Texas Tech Freshman in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.
Toppin scored several baskets to put the Red Raiders down by three with less than a minute to go. Toppin had another monster performance. He finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
Williams took over from there. Tech trusted him with the final shot. He sank it, and sent the game to OT.
Texas Tech's Kevin Overton in action against Arkansas
(Credit: texastech.com)
Another one of the unsung heroes on the night was Kevin Overton. The defensive specialist scored 12 points off the bench when Texas Tech's other starters couldn't hit a shot. Tech's defense, led by Toppin, Overton, and Elijah Hawkins was pivotal down the stretch to secure a victory.
Now, the Red Raiders turn their sights to the Elite 8 where they will face off with No. 1 Florida. The Gators easily dispatched No. 4 Maryland on Thursday night, 87-81. The game is set for Saturday, March 29. Gametime is still TBD.
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