The No. 1 Florida Gators made a furious comeback Saturday to defeat No. 3 Texas Tech 84-79 and clinch the first spot in the Final Four.
The two teams were playing each other at Chase Center in San Francisco in the finals of the West Region. Another spot in the Final Four will be decided tonight as No. 1 Duke takes on No. 2 Alabama in the East Region finals.
The Gators trailed 71-61 with a little over six minutes left in the second half, at one point going nearly four minutes without scoring. But Florida finished the game on a 23-8 run to avoid an upset and book a ticket to San Antonio.
The Gators were led in scoring by senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 30 points in his best performance of the tournament. Clayton was aided greatly by sophomore forward Thomas Haugh, who added 20 points of his own.
With their team trailing by 10, Haugh and Clayton scored their team’s next 17 points to put Florida ahead 78-77. The dynamic duo hit 7-of-14 shots from three, including five in the game’s final five minutes and 24 seconds.
The Red Raiders were led by junior forward Darrion Williams, who scored 23 in the losing effort. Williams was dominant for much of the night, particularly hurting the Gators when posting up against one-on-one coverage.
Williams and sophomore forward J.T. Toppin, who had 20 points, both had success inside, but the outside shooting swung the game late. After starting the night shooting only 4-of-16 from three, Florida hit five of its last eight attempts. The Gators also got to the free-throw line a whopping 27 times, and hit 25.
By catching fire from deep, Florida was able to overcome an otherwise sloppy performance. The Gators committed 12 turnovers, off of which Texas Tech scored 22 points. Ultimately, as great as the Red Raiders were taking away the ball and getting into the paint, they couldn’t overcome the difference at the three-point and free-throw lines.
Florida, as the winner of the West Region, is now in the Final Four for the first time since 2014.
