Texas Tech Falls in the Final Seconds Against Florida

SAN FRANCISCO, CA –  No. 3 seed Texas Tech’s NCAA Tournament run came to an end Saturday night at Chase Center, as the Red Raiders fell 84-79 to top-seeded Florida in the West Region Final.

Darrion Williams led the Red Raiders (28-9) with 23 points, and JT Toppin recorded his 19th double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Both players were named to the West Region All-Tournament Team.

"I'm thankful," Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland said. "I'm just thankful that this group of guys, I think, did get a taste and did get to see what it means to really love your teammates the way that I think God tells us to give everything we have. And I mean it. Like, how do you give everything you have? How do you lay down your life? How do you sacrifice for other people? How do you love other people in a real way? I think that's what builds from year to year. I believe that's the heart of the guys that we have and that's what will be the most important part of these rosters is that heart. We'll be able to do it with the guys that we'll have returning because of it."

The Red Raiders led 75-66 with 3:14 remaining before Florida stormed back with an 18-4 run to close the game. The Gators took the lead on a Walter Clayton Jr. 3-pointer with 59 seconds left and sealed it at the free-throw line, going 25-of-27 from the stripe compared to Tech’s 7-of-13.

Clayton led all scorers with 30 points, including three 3-pointers and 13 made free throws.

"He's a hard cover," McCasland said. "He's just so difficult. He can hurt you in so many different ways. He's dynamic at shooting. But he's crafty in his change of pace. They do such a good job of moving the ball."

Chance McMillian returned to the court after missing four games with an injury and scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers. Elijah Hawkins added seven assists and four rebounds, while Kerwin Walton had six points and Kevin Overton added five. Christian Anderson and Federiko Federiko each scored four points.

Tech finished 10-of-27 from 3-point range, compared to Florida’s 9-of-24. The Gators also held a 42-35 rebounding advantage. Toppin was 9-for-22 from the field with six offensive rebounds, while Williams finished 9-for-18 and hit a team-best three 3-pointers.

“I think we accomplished a lot,” Williams said. “ot what we wanted, obviously, but we were picked to finish seventh in conference. If anybody told you they thought we would be in the Elite Eight they would be lying to you, besides our team and our inner circle. At the end of the day, it hurts right now. We look back at it, feel like we could have went farther but I think overall we had a good season.”

“Nobody picked us to be here,” Toppin added. “Just to look back at it now, I'm proud and I just love my teammates. I'm sad about the outcome.”

The Red Raiders trailed 40-37 at halftime but came out strong in the second half to build a double-digit lead. With six minutes left, Toppin’s layup put Tech ahead 71-61. Florida responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Thomas Haugh and the go-ahead 3 from Clayton.

“I wanted to sit in that locker room forever, honestly,” McCasland said. “I don't know. You get in these moments and a lot has happened in a short amount of time because the game has a scoreboard. I hate that we aren't continuing to play because I know these guys love each other.”

Texas Tech ends its season with 28 wins and a trip to the Elite 8, the third in program history. The Red Raiders reached this round by defeating No. 14 UNC Wilmington, No. 11 Drake and No. 10 Arkansas.

Florida (33-4) advances to the Final Four in San Antonio, where it will face the South Region champion next Saturday.