In a year of March Madness basketball that has been notoriously lacking in upsets, a top seed narrowly avoided being the first to fall. On Saturday, March 29, the Florida Gators took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Red Raiders led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but a late rally by the Gators helped them avoid elimination with an 84-79 victory.
Forwards Darrion Williams and JT Toppin led the way for the Red Raiders’ offense, finishing with a combined 43 points. The game was neck-and-neck throughout the entire first half, with neither team being able to create separation. The turning point came with around 11 minutes left in the second half. With the score locked at 55, the Red Raiders went on a 12-2 scoring run to capture a double-digit lead. However, Florida chipped away at Tech’s lead as time wound down.
In the game’s final minutes, Thomas Haugh and Walter Clayton Jr. caught fire from deep, and three straight three-pointers fueled a 9-0 scoring run that tied the game at 75. Williams responded with a layup for Tech, but Clayton Jr. buried a three-ball on the other end to put the Gators on top, 78-77. From there, the Gators made all of their attempts at the line and held off the Texas Tech offense to secure the win.
The win comes just two days after the Red Raiders completed an epic comeback of their own, as they rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to shock the Arkansas Razorbacks in overtime. The victory sends Florida to the Final Four for the first time in 11 years. They will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Auburn and Michigan State.
Florida punched the first Final Four ticket of the 2025 NCAA tournament with this come-from-behind win over Texas Tech on Saturday in San Francisco. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 13 of his game-high 30 points over the final 5:24 to erase a 10-point deficit to Texas Tech and send the Gators to their first Final Four since 2014. Florida had been unable to score back-to-back buckets the entire second half, but Thomas Haugh finally shot back-to-back 3s to cut the deficit to 75-72 with 2:27 to play before Clayton Jr. took the baton, also hitting back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to give Florida its first lead since early in the half and ice the game in its closing moments with a pair of free throws.
Thanks to a miraculous finish, Florida basketball is heading back to the Final Four for the first time since 2014. The Gators rallied from down nine points in the final 3:14 to beat Texas Tech 84-79 before 16,778 spectators at the Chase Center. It looked bleak when UF (34-4) fell behind 75-66 on a layup by Texas Tech forward JT Toppin with 3:14 remaining. But a Thomas Haugh 3-pointer cut Texas Tech’s lead to 75-69. Then, Haugh and Walter Clayton sank back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at 75 with 1:47 left.
After an inside basket by Darrion Williams put Texas Tech up 77-75, Florida went ahead to stay, 78-77, on a 3-pointer by Clayton with 1:03 left. From there, Florida closed the game out at the foul line, as Clayton, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard made six straight free throws in the final 21 seconds. Clayton led UF with 30 points, while Haugh added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Williams led Texas Tech with 23 points.
Florida basketball remains down 71-64 on Texas Tech with 3:52 remaining. Walter Clayton Jr. had 20 points, but the 3-point shooting struggles remained, as UF was 5-for-19 from 3-point range. The Gators found themselves down 67-57 on Texas Tech with 7:48 remaining. Red Raiders were on a 6-0 run and getting anything they wanted inside right now. Darrion Williams had 21 points to lead UF. The Gators were also not shooting well from the perimeter, going 4-16 from 3-point range, which hurt their efforts.
Florida basketball remained down, 50-46, with 13:26 remaining, and they had just two points and three turnovers in the first 4:02 of the second half. Florida took a 40-37 lead into halftime against Texas Tech, having hit all 10 of their free throws while the Red Raiders were 2 of 6 at the line. Thomas Haugh had 12 points and six rebounds to lead UF, while Walter Clayton Jr. had eight points (but 0-3 from 3-point range).
Florida led Texas Tech 32-31 into the final TV timeout in the first half after a Thomas Haugh steal and breakaway dunk. Haugh had 10 points to lead UF, while Walter Clayton Jr. (4 points, 1-3 shooting) was quiet so far. Texas Tech was up 24-23 on Florida at the third TV timeout. Darrion Williams had eight points for Texas Tech but was on the bench with two fouls. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh contributed five points apiece for UF. The Gators were fortunate that Texas Tech was 6-10 from the free-throw line while they were 6-6.
Florida and Texas Tech were tied at 19 at the second TV timeout. The Gators had already used all four players in their post rotation. Thomas Haugh had five points to lead UF, while Darrion Williams had six points for Texas Tech. Florida weathered an early barrage of Texas Tech 3-pointers and was down 11-10 on the Red Raiders at the first TV timeout. Tommy Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen had come in off the bench already and made early impacts, with Haugh grabbing two rebounds and Aberdeen sinking a 3-pointer. Texas Tech was 3-4 from 3-point range to start the game.
Florida basketball had a solid fan turnout for today's Elite Eight game on the West Coast; estimated 60-40 Florida fans to Texas Tech fans. Texas Tech announced guard Chance McMillian would be available for the Red Raiders in today's Elite Eight matchup with Florida. McMillian, a 43.4% 3-point shooter, had been out Texas Tech's last four games with an oblique strain. McMillian wasn't starting for TTU, while Alex Condon (ankle) was listed in the starting lineup for Florida.
The game started at 6:09 p.m. ET at the Chase Center, San Francisco, Calif., with a capacity of 18,064. It was broadcast on TBS and TruTV. The predicted score was Florida 84, Texas Tech 73, with a betting spread of Florida -7.5 and an Over/Under of 157.5 points.
With their sights set on the national championship, Florida's key in the Final Four will be Walter Clayton Jr.'s brilliance. Star power reigns in the tournament, and Clayton Jr. has shown he might be the biggest star of them all. His sheer will and talent could be the deciding factors in whether the Gators win the title. Now, as they prepare for their next opponent, the excitement in Gainesville is palpable.
