SAN FRANCISCO — For more than half of Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against Arkansas, Texas Tech looked like the inferior team.
But after going down by as much as 16 in the second half, the Red Raiders came all the way back to deny No. 10 Arkansas with an 85-83 win in overtime at Chase Center. It was the second-largest comeback win in Sweet 16 history, sending Texas Tech to Saturday’s Elite Eight matchup with top-seeded Florida (3:09 p.m. PT, TBS).
Texas Tech’s second leading scorer and Sacramento native Darrion Williams struggled against Arkansas’ rangy defense most of the night, but made a late 3-pointer to force overtime and the go-ahead layup with less than 10 seconds left to seal the win. He finished with 20 points after shooting 2-of-12 in the first half.
The Red Raiders scored nine unanswered points in the second half to cut Arkansas’ lead to seven on a driving layup by Williams with 7:08 remaining. That run included a possession with six offensive rebounds and came with Big 12 player of the year JT Toppin on the bench.
Arkansas pushed its lead back up to 11, but Texas Tech had another run fueled by Christian Anderson.
Anderson scored 11 points by himself and capped off his run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:09 left to tie it. With 9.7 seconds left in regulation, Williams, who was 3 for 9 from beyond the arc, knocked down a contested 3 from the right wing to tie the game at 72.
Anderson led Texas Tech in scoring with 22 points. Williams and Big 12 player of the year JT Toppin each had 20.
Senior Johnell Davis led Arkansas with 30 points and six rebounds. Karter Knox added 20 points and D.J. Wagner scored 13, including an acrobatic layup late in overtime to tie the game before Williams’ game winner.
Arkansas jumped out to an 18-7 lead nine minutes into the first half as Texas Tech struggled to find clean looks at the basket. The Red Raiders shot 3 of 18 from the field during that stretch.
Texas Tech was held to just 35.3% from the field in the first half and made only three of its 16 shots from beyond the arc.
Though Texas Tech cut the Arkansas lead to four, the Razorbacks finished the half strong to take a 38-31 lead into halftime. Arkansas’ offense leaned on Davis, who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four just two years ago, to create offense against a scrappy Texas Tech defense. Davis scored 14 of his 30 points through the game’s first 20 minutes.
Arkansas freshman forward Billy Richmond III briefly left the game after taking a hard fall on a layup attempt halfway through the first half, but returned at the 3:08 mark.
Arkansas came out of the second half looking to put the Red Raiders away early.
The Razorbacks opened the first 10 minutes of the second half, outscoring Texas Tech 19-12 to take a 59-43 lead. But, led by Anderson and Williams, the Red Raiders turned the game around and kept their tournament run alive.
This story will be updated.