Key moments from Florida's Elite Eight win over Texas Tech
The Florida Gators were done. Finished. Toast. Ready for the toe tag. And then … with time winding down in Sunday’s Elite Eight vs. Texas Tech, UF came to life. And in a shocking few minutes, the top-seeded team in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament went from a probable exit to an improbable win that sends the Gators to the Final Four for the sixth time.
Final score: Florida 84, Texas Tech 79.
Florida trailed by nine after a JT Toppin layup with 3:14 left. But then the Gators got hot. Senior All-American guard Walter Clayton, who stared slowly in the game, helped lead the Gators from the abyss with 30 points while hitting multiple clutch 3-pointers down the stretch. Meanwhile, Florida forward Thomas Haugh also came up big, making two 3-pointers of his own in a 23-second span as the Gators scored an incredible 18 points in the final 2:50.
Now, UF (33-4) is only two wins away from winning the national title.
These were some of the most memorable moments for the Florida Gators from Saturday’s game
-With 59 seconds remaining, Clayton made his third 3-pointer in the game — all of which came in the final stages of the game. It put Florida in front 78-77 and the Gators would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
-The aforementioned back-to-back 3-pointers from Haugh, who finished with 20 points off the bench, cut Florida’s deficit from nine points to three (with 2:27 remaining) and gave the Gators life. Clayton assisted both baskets. Haugh made 6 of 11 field goals and was 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. He added a team-high 11 rebounds.
-With Florida down 10, Clayton finally drained his first 3-pointer of the game to make it 71-64 with 5:24 left. That make seemed to at long last get him going. In addition to going 7 of 14 from the field, Clayton made 13 of 14 foul shots. As a team, the Gators were 25 of 27 from the line.
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-A dunk by Haugh gave UF a 32-31 lead with 4:34 remaining in the first half and the Gators, which helped Florida take a three-point lead into the break. It came after a steal from Haugh on the other end of the court, after which he drove all the way to the basket for two. Haugh led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 12 points.
Haugh also had a very big first half
-At the 5:40 mark of the first half, Haugh made his second 3-pointer of the game on an assist from Richard. The bucket brought Florida to within 29-28. With that make, Haugh was 2 of 3 from the field while the rest of the UF team was only a combined 7 of 17 at that time.
-With 15:14 left in the first half the Gators took their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from Haugh from near the top of the key. The ball hit the rim, bounced up and off the backboard, then fell in as Florida went in front 13-11.
