Walter Clayton Jr. leads Florida past Texas Tech, on to Final Four

SAN FRANCISCO -- Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 30 points, including 11 points in the final 5:24, as top-seeded Florida survived a back-and-forth battle to beat third-seeded Texas Tech 84-79 and advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Chase Center.

Clayton, who was named the regional's most outstanding player, saved his heroics for down the stretch, including hitting three 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Gators (34-4) erase a 75-66 deficit in the final three minutes.

The victory lifted Florida into its first Final Four since 2014. The Gators will play the winner of the South Regional final between Auburn (31-5), the tournament's overall top seed, and the region's No. 2 seed Michigan State (30-6) in the Final Four next Saturday in San Antonio.

It also gave head coach Todd Golden his first trip to the season's final weekend.

Thomas Haugh added 20 points, including two big 3-pointers during the second-half comeback. He also contributed 11 rebounds. Guard Alijah Martin added 10 points and seven boards.

Forward Darrion Williams led the Red Raiders with 23 points, and JT Toppin added 20, including three straight layups late in the second half as Texas Tech built its nine-point lead.

The Red Raiders were denied their first trip to the Final Four since 2019.

Clayton's last 3-pointer gave the Gators the lead to stay at 78-77 with 59 seconds left. He found himself surrounded underneath near the basket, dribbled out beyond the arc and drained the shot.

The treys Clayton made down the stretch were the only three he made in eight attempts.

Williams then missed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc for Texas Tech, and on the Red Raiders' next possession, he missed again with 11.5 seconds left. Will Richard's two free throws iced it for the Gators.

Haugh started Florida's comeback with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Haugh went 4 of 6 from deep, and the Gators Florida were 5 of 13 on 3-pointers in the second half.

Texas Tech led by 10 on multiple occasions in the second half, including on Toppin's jumper on a post-up with 6:38 to play. He then hit a layup on the Red Raiders' next possession to push the lead back to 10 at 71-61. Florida then got a trey from Clayton on a ball that bounded more than once off the rim, starting a game ending 23-8 run.

--Field Level Media