The third-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to force overtime, where they eventually defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-83. With the win, the Red Raiders advanced to the Elite Eight for just the third time in the program’s 100-year history.
“What an unbelievable college basketball game,” said second-year Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland to open the postgame press conference. “I just kept telling these guys in timeouts that we’re going to win the game… I’m just telling them, ‘We’re gonna make them when it matters,’ and I believed it with all my heart. That’s Red Raider basketball.”
The play of the evening came from junior forward Darrion Williams, who hit a game-winning layup with 7.3 seconds left in overtime. Prior to that basket, he had only made seven shots on 25 field goal attempts.
“Obviously, I was mad I was missing them, but my teammates and coach just kept telling me we’re gonna make them down the line, and he’s gonna rock with me whether I make or miss it,” Williams said. “Seeing it come to fruition and be good in this big moment is really cool.”
There was a moment where Texas Tech trailed Arkansas 61-45 with 10:23 left in the second half, but the Red Raiders never wavered and were able to claw their way back into the game with effective rebounding, explained Texas Tech freshman guard Christian Anderson.
“Yeah, they (the rebounds) were huge… I think that’s what kind of started the party,” he said. “Shots weren’t falling, so we knew we had to make a point to go rebound our misses because it was such a big lead we had to overcome… That’s kind of what kept us in the game, and then it proved big for us at the end.”
D5. CLUTCH. AGAIN!
THE SECOND LARGEST COMEBACK EVER IN THE SWEET 16!#TTW | 📺 TBS pic.twitter.com/zndRzXTUQt
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 28, 2025
“We just wanted to play our hardest,” Williams added. “If we would’ve just rolled over and let them beat us by 30, the season would’ve been over, and none of us wanted that. We were like, ‘let’s give it our best shot,’ and what happened happened.”
Unsurprisingly, McCasland never lost faith in his squad.
“I believe in our team,” he said. “I’ve seen it enough… It’s just [about] trying to keep them in the fight together. Every time out, I’d seen Arkansas play enough to know that they were pretty volatile in the way the game goes… I’ve seen this team let people in, and I’m telling them, ‘This is what we want. We want them to get a big lead. We’ll find a way.'”
Tomorrow night, the Red Raiders face the number-one-seeded Florida Gators at 6:09 p.m. EST with a spot in the Final Four on the line. McCasland welcomes the challenge.
“I watched a little bit of the SEC Championship and watched them basically play their basketball of the year and heard consistently from coaches that they’re playing the best of anybody in the country,” he said. “This is what you sign up for in the NCAA Tournament. You want the opportunity to play the best.”
