Walter Clayton Jr. and Florida are heading to the Final Four after beating Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Ezra Shaw via Getty Images)
Florida needed a late surge to get to the Final Four.
The No. 1 Gators went on a 12-2 run to take the lead with less than a minute to go on the way to an 84-79 win over No. 3 Texas Tech.
Star guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored the final six points of that run with two 3-pointers. Clayton tied the game at 75-75 with 1:47 to go and then buried another with 59 seconds remaining to give Florida the lead for good.
Texas Tech took control of the game in the second half and led 75-66 with 3:14 to go. But the Red Raiders didn’t score for nearly two minutes. And in that span, Florida had completely erased the deficit thanks to two crucial missed free throws.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Tech had a chance to tie the game after Alijah Martin made two free throws with 20 seconds to go. But Darrion Williams’ 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go bounced off the rim and Clayton sealed the game at the free-throw line. The Gators finished the game on an 18-4 run.
Florida got back into the game as Williams and JT Toppin — the Big 12 player of the year — both missed the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities at the line.
Williams missed a free throw with 2:43 to go in between 3-pointers by Thomas Haugh to cut Tech’s lead to three. Toppin then missed a free throw with 2:08 to go and Clayton hit the first of his two back-to-back threes on the ensuing possession.
