The Big 12 Conference had one team playing in the Elite Eight of the men’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Saturday’s Elite Eight Results
No. 1 Florida 84, No. 3 Texas Tech 79
Here are three takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
A WRECKED FINISH
Something that has defined Texas Tech during this tournament is a reputation as a second-half team. As the Red Raiders took a double-digit lead on Florida in the second half, CBS flashed up a reminder.
In the first three games of the tournament the Red Raiders had a plus-1 point differential in the first half. In the second half and overtime that differential grew to plus-28.
The Red Raiders know how to finish a game. As the clocked rolled down, Texas Tech appeared to have a second trip to the Final Four in six years in hand.
Well, the Gators are a No. 1 seed for a reason. They turned the Red Raiders’ point-differential narrative on its head in the final three minutes.
Florida outscored Texas Tech 20-6 in the final four minutes. The Gators went from being down 73-64 to winning by five points. They were a runaway train, and the Red Raiders didn’t have the brakes to stop them.
The thing is, Texas Tech had good looks to end the drought. Darrion Williams missed a pair of 3-pointers that were relatively open. They had a jump ball go their way. But, forced to foul in the final minute, and with Florida being such a good team from the free-throw line, that sealed it.
That was the finish I didn’t expect. A Tech team that was fully in control of the game and it just got away from them.
BY CHANCE
Chance McMillian was finally good enough to go on Saturday. The stubborn oblique injury that had taken the last few weeks finally subsided enough to allow him to play.
The Red Raiders brought him off the bench and he had an impact, probably more of an impact that I expected due to the time off and the fact that oblique injuries can be tricky. He played 26 minutes, scored 14 points and had an assist. He also made two 3-pointers.
The unfortunate part for McMillian is that this was it. He was a super-senior and he’s out of eligibility. That’s the worst part of a journey like this. For many of these players, there’s a finality to it.
Sounds like he impacted coach Grant McCasland, regardless of the outcome.
BLUE DEVILS MARCH
Two nights after Alabama just obliterated BYU with a torrent of 3-pointers, the Duke Blue Devils splashed cold water on all of that.
The Blue Devils marched on to the Final Four with a 85-65 win over the Crimson Tide. Does that count as vengeance for the Big 12? Probably not.
But it’s a little solace for the ACC, which had just four teams reach the tournament and only one get into the Sweet 16. That only becomes a problem if that one team doesn’t get to the Final Four.
Duke is so balanced. The Blue Devils didn’t need a huge came from freshman Cooper Flagg, not when the entire roster is clicking. The Blue Devils used 10 players on Saturday. There’s untapped depth there.
I figured the Blue Devils would reach the Final Four. So here we are. The win matters, of course, to Houston. If the Cougars beat Tennessee on Sunday, they’ll get a shot at the Blue Devils.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
