Texas Tech and Arkansas’ Sweet 16 matchup gave us the first overtime game of the 2025 NCAA tournament after a historic comeback for the Red Raiders on Thursday night.
Darrion Williams converted a tough finish at the rim with seven seconds left as the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders stunned the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-83 in an overtime thriller at the Chase Center.
With the win, Texas Tech etched itself into the NCAA tournament history books, as its 16-point comeback in the second half was the second-largest second-half comeback in Sweet 16 history.
The Red Raiders seemed dead in the water with 10 minutes left in the game, as the Razorbacks jumped out to a 61-45 lead. But, everything changed from there as Texas Tech pulled off the miraculous comeback to reach overtime, ultimately sealing the deal in the final seconds with Williams’s game-winner.
Williams and freshman Christian Anderson were the heroes on Thursday, combining to score 22 of Texas Tech’s 27 points over the final 9:28 as they willed the Red Raiders back, extending their season five extra minutes with the momentum on their side.
It was a much different second half for Williams, who started off the game shooting 1-for-11 before settling down with 15 second-half points to bring Texas Tech back.
“I just wanted to give it my all because I felt like I wasn’t doing that in the first half offensively or defensively,” Williams acknowledged after the game. “So once I checked back in at midway through the second half, I don’t know what time it was. I just told coach, I’m gonna play my hardest and whatever happens, happens. And we just told each other, let’s just go out swinging.”
As for Anderson, the freshman had a day for the record books, getting his career high in the biggest game of his life, with Texas Tech looking his way for crucial buckets down the stretch.
“It just shows the trust the team and the coaches have in me,” Anderson said. “When I was coming to Texas Tech, I really could sense the trust they had in me at the beginning of the season. And, all the way up to now, it just shows, allowing me to take those big shots, not even making them, but allowing me to take them and getting plays and the last shot I made, just the confidence they have in me to even take that shot. It just shows how much they believe in me.”
In overtime, Williams and star forward J.T. Toppin were the leaders, assisting on or scoring all of Texas Tech’s 13 points, while shooting 4-for-5 in the period. Utilizing their size advantage, the frontcourt duo pounded the paint to find quality shots, putting the pressure on Arkansas on every offensive possession.
The key turning point, however, came from a player who had seen his worst shooting night of the season: Elijah Hawkins. Playing all 45 minutes in Thursday’s thriller, Hawkins missed his first nine shots of the game, including six from beyond the arc.
But, with Texas Tech down 76-74, Hawkins hit a crucial catch-and-shoot three. The Red Raiders had tied the game on a couple of occasions, but securing the lead was massive in the back-and-forth action as Toppin and Williams were able to get the job done after that.
“He’s a gamer man, and that’s the heartbeat of our team,” Williams said about Hawkins. “He makes everything rock. Obviously he’s a assist leader for a reason and he just plays as hard as no matter what. I don’t think he came out the game tonight. So he’s just a gamer man. He needs his respect.”
“All year, we talked about being resilient and just never giving up,” Hawkins said after the game. “And my teammates got confidence in me and I got confidence in them and when I get the open shot or anybody get the open shot, we got to take it with confidence. That’s what I did. I wasn’t able to get anything else to fall today, but you know, big shot, had to lock in and shot it of confidence. My teammates believe in me.”
The win wasn’t a pretty win by any means. The Red Raiders shot under 40 percent from the field. Under 25 percent from three. They led for only 3:20 out of the 45 minutes on Thursday. But, at the end of the day, it was their name ahead on the scoreboard when the clock ticked zero.
It’s been a year of various outcomes for Texas Tech, as they’ve lost close games, come back from behind before and been in battles all season long.
“It just shows our toughness,” Anderson said after the game. “Our motto is: toughest team wins. And I think that really showed tonight. We’ve had a rough couple games shooting and it showed tonight in the beginning of the game and towards the end, I think we kind of found that click. And as a team, we were just working together, both offensive and defensively to come back. And I think that’s what we did.”
“I think [this win] just shows our resilience, man,” Darrion Williams added. “We’ve been in every type of game this year. Obviously down 16, we’ve been up, blew a lead and had to come back and win again. So I think we’ve been in every type of game. Nothing really phases us. We’re just going to fight to the end.”
Now, they turn their focus to the No. 1 seed Florida Gators, who have been as good as any team in the country over the last month of the season. The Red Raiders will certainly have their hands full with one of the deepest teams in the country, as five players just saw over 36 minutes of action in Thursday’s win.
Looking to make an upset against Florida, the Red Raiders will hope to shoot much closer to their season average of 37.9 percent beyond the arc in comparison to their putrid 25 percent from distance on Thursday.
But, the formula for victory will remain the same: win the rebounding battle, play stellar defense to slow things down and rely on the top players to create enough offense.
Health will be a key to watch on both sides, as Florida star forward Alex Condon dealt with a lower-body injury in the Gators’ 87-71 win over Maryland, while Texas Tech hopes to get back guard Chance McMillan, who hasn’t played since the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
For now, however, the Red Raiders will relish their victory on Thursday, as they found a way to will themselves back, despite seeming on the brink of defeat through the first 30 minutes.
