Down by 16 points with 10 minutes left in the second half, Texas Tech pulled off the second-largest comeback in Sweet 16 history.
‘What an unbelievable college basketball game,’ said Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland.
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%), 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 deep, 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 in 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. The Razorbacks’ lead grew to as much as 16 points in the second half.
With six minutes to go, Texas Tech still 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, forcing overtime.
In the extra period, Texas Tech’s shooting remained hot and Williams − playing near his hometown of Sacramento − continued his clutch night, hitting the go-ahead bucket with seven seconds to go.
‘Give Texas Tech credit. They made plays down the stretch that gave them a chance and they won the game,’ said Arkansas head coach John Calipari.
Thursday’s win also snapped an incredible streak for Calipari. In his NCAA Tournament career, he was 35-0 when leading by at least six points at halftime. The Red Raiders trailed by seven points at the break, but became the first one to overcome Calipari’s track record.
‘In the huddle, Coach kept saying we’re gonna find a way to win this no matter how much we were down,’ said Texas Tech freshman guard Christian Anderson, who had a team-high 22 points. ‘As a team, we kind of had that look like we’re not losing this game no matter what.’
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 story has been updated with new information.
