Before Thursday night, John Calipari never lost a NCAA Tournament game when his team was leading by six points or more at halftime. His Arkansas Razorbacks had a seven-point cushion against Texas Tech.
But the Red Raiders quickly reminded the country how dangerous they can be when the game heats up. They fell behind to open the second half, by a score of 44-33, and couldn't buy a bucket for the next minute and a half.
It's remarkable how they were able to hang around with the Razorbacks, despite the slim trimmings to the deficit until the final five minutes, when they went on a rapid 10-0 run. It was suddenly anyone's game.
With nine seconds on the clock, Darrion Williams drilled a game-tying three-pointer, off an assist from Christian Anderson to go into free basketball.
Williams knew his job wasn't finished. Following a back-and-forth overtime, the junior forward drove in for a game-winning layup to send the Red Raiders to the Elite Eight.
Texas Tech ends Arkansas' impressive March Madness journey in OT
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Hats off to Arkansas. This team snuck in the NCAA Tournament without much steam as a No. 10 seed, and was counted out by many March Madness pundits before the Round of 64 matchup with Kansas.
For Texas Tech, battling back like it did in a very tough spot without one of its leading scorers in Chance McMillian, has to be encouraging. It's uncertain if the senior guard will return from his injury for the Elite Eight matchup with No. 1 Florida, but it's looking like the Texas Tech sharpshooter is close.
“I’m getting better day by day in the training room,” McMillan said on Wednesday, per RedRaiderSports.com. “I strained my oblique pretty bad but my goal is to play tomorrow.”
The Red Raiders advance to face the Gators on Saturday at 6:09 PM ET.