Texas Tech prepares for top-seeded Florida in the Elite Eight following March Madness comeback
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As gratifying as it was to engineer a memorable March Madness comeback, Texas Tech knows there’s an even tougher task ahead if the Red Raiders want to reach the Final Four.
Standing in Texas Tech’s way is one of the deepest and most complete teams in the country in a matchup against top-seeded Florida in the West Region final on Saturday.
The third-seeded Red Raiders (28-8) earned the matchup against the Gators (33-4) by erasing a 13-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation before winning 85-83 in overtime in the Sweet 16.
“In the moment it was the craziest feeling,” guard Christian Anderson said Friday. “Just coming back and the fans and the whole environment. It’s a surreal feeling. You got to have a quick recovery time because in this type of tournament you play almost the next day. So just having that on-to-the-next-game mindset from here.”
After guard Elijah Higgins played all 45 minutes Thursday night and four other Red Raiders had more than 37 minutes of game action, coach Grant McCasland took it easy on Friday with a light practice.
But he wasn’t overly concerned about any lingering effects come Saturday.
“Adrenaline takes over when you play in these games,” McCasland said. “”There’s enough time in between games, it’s not like conference tournament where you turn around and play in less than 24 hours. I think that’s huge for us. We would prefer more rest. But with our team, there’s enough grit in our locker room to be prepared for the next one.”
The Gators had it much easier Thursday night when they pulled away from Maryland for an 87-71 victory. That allowed coach Todd Golden to rely heavily on his deep rotation that featured six players scoring in double figures.
“We’re strength in numbers, similar to the Warriors used to say back in the day,” he said. “That’s our team as well. Having those four bigs out there playing consistent minutes is really important to us.”
The Gators have made it to the Elite Eight despite not playing a complete game in the first three rounds. They stumbled for stretches in the first weekend against Norfolk State and UConn before surviving a sloppy first half against Maryland.
They want to get back to the dominant form they showed when they rolled through the Southeastern Conference Tournament, winning three games by an average of more than 14 points.
“There’s definitely a better version out there of us,” All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr. said. “It’s going to come sooner or later. So just got to finally get back on the same page as each other and get back to the way that we play.”
Pound the glass
Both teams excelled on the boards in the Sweet 16, with one memorable stretch by Texas Tech. The Red Raiders got seven offensive rebounds on one trip, including four by Federiko Federiko before a putback that helped fuel the comeback.
“I think that was really the big turning point in the game,” forward Darrion Williams said.
The Red Raiders had 22 offensive rebounds leading to 16 points in all against Arkansas to go with a plus-12 rebounding margin. Florida grabbed 15 offensive boards leading to 21 points and outrebounded Maryland 42-20.
The Gators have been one of the best teams all season on offensive rebounds, ranking sixth in the country with 12.5 per game and fourth with 15.6 second-chance points per game.
Protect the ball
Florida struggled to protect the ball in the first half on Thursday night with 13 turnovers in what has been an issue in recent games. The Gators did a much better job protecting the ball in the second half with only four turnovers and will look to replicate that against Texas Tech.
“You saw the end result,” reserve Thomas Haugh said. “That’s the brand of basketball we need to play.”
Injury report
The Red Raiders are still holding out hope that leading 3-point shooter Chance McMillian can return from an oblique injury that has sidelined him since the Big 12 Tournament. McMillian was expected to take part in a light shootaround on Friday and a decision on his status won’t be made until Saturday.
“Hopefully we’ll get him back in some way,” McCasland said. “But it’s hard to say until we get closer to game time and he warms up and see how he feels.”
The Gators avoided a scare when big man Alex Condon re-injured his right ankle that sidelined him earlier this season. Condon was able to return for the second half and is on target to play Saturday. Condon has been getting treatment and didn’t practice Friday to rest the ankle.
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