The first 34 minutes of No. 3 Texas Tech’s Sweet 16 game were far from ideal. But the Red Raiders didn’t quit and used a late rally to force overtime against upset minded-No. 10 Arkansas, and came out on top to win 85-83 and advance to the Elite Eight.
Down by 16 points with 10 minutes left in the second half, Texas Tech pulled off the second-largest comeback in Sweet 16 history.
Entering the night, Arkansas ranked 265th out of 355 Division I teams in 3-point percentage (32.4%) and averaged 6.9 made 3-pointers a game.
But Arkansas eclipsed that mark in the first 20 minutes with seven made 3-pointers on 14 attempts (50%) by halftime, which had to surprise Texas Tech – given how the Razorbacks had most of their success in the opening weekend in the paint. In the upset win against St. John’s on Saturday, Arkansas was 2-for-19 from 3-point range.
Meanwhile the Red Raiders – a solid team from beyond the arc – struggled from there, going 3-for-18 (18.8%) in the first half. The Razorbacks went on a 15-2 run to take an early lead and were out front by as much as 13 points in the first half.
The shooting from deep cooled off in the second half, but the Razorbacks went back to doing what got them to this point: grinding out teams inside the arc. Arkansas found success near the rim while Texas Tech continued to struggle from deep.
With six minutes to go, Texas Tech trailed by 13 points and looked to be done. However the 3-pointers started to fall in a 16-3 run to tie the game, capped by Darrion Williams’ deep bucket with nine seconds to go to force overtime.
In the extra period, Texas Tech’s shooting remained hot and Williams continued his clutch night as he hit the go-ahead bucket with seven seconds to go.
Texas Tech now advances to its first Elite Eight since 2019, the same year it made the Final Four for the first time in school history. The Red Raiders will face No. 1 seed Florida on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Tech reaches Elite 8 with historic rally, OT win vs Arkansas
The first 34 minutes of No. 3 Texas Tech’s Sweet 16 game were far from ideal. But the Red Raiders didn’t quit and used a late rally to force overtime against upset minded-No. 10 Arkansas, and came out on top to win 85-83 and advance to the Elite Eight.
Down by 16 points with 10 minutes left in the second half, Texas Tech pulled off the second-largest comeback in Sweet 16 history.
Entering the night, Arkansas ranked 265th out of 355 Division I teams in 3-point percentage (32.4%) and averaged 6.9 made 3-pointers a game.
But Arkansas eclipsed that mark in the first 20 minutes with seven made 3-pointers on 14 attempts (50%) by halftime, which had to surprise Texas Tech – given how the Razorbacks had most of their success in the opening weekend in the paint. In the upset win against St. John’s on Saturday, Arkansas was 2-for-19 from 3-point range.
Meanwhile the Red Raiders – a solid team from beyond the arc – struggled from there, going 3-for-18 (18.8%) in the first half. The Razorbacks went on a 15-2 run to take an early lead and were out front by as much as 13 points in the first half.
The shooting from deep cooled off in the second half, but the Razorbacks went back to doing what got them to this point: grinding out teams inside the arc. Arkansas found success near the rim while Texas Tech continued to struggle from deep.
With six minutes to go, Texas Tech trailed by 13 points and looked to be done. However the 3-pointers started to fall in a 16-3 run to tie the game, capped by Darrion Williams’ deep bucket with nine seconds to go to force overtime.
In the extra period, Texas Tech’s shooting remained hot and Williams continued his clutch night as he hit the go-ahead bucket with seven seconds to go.
Texas Tech now advances to its first Elite Eight since 2019, the same year it made the Final Four for the first time in school history. The Red Raiders will face No. 1 seed Florida on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Tech reaches Elite 8 with historic rally, OT win vs Arkansas
