March Madness 2025: Walter Clayton Jr. powers Florida's late run to get past Texas Tech and into Final Four

Florida needed a late surge to get to the Final Four.

The No. 1 Gators went on a 12-2 run to take the lead with less than a minute to go on the way to an 84-79 win over No. 3 Texas Tech.

Star guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored the final six points of that run with two 3-pointers. Clayton tied the game at 75-75 with 1:47 to go and then buried another with 59 seconds remaining to give Florida the lead for good. 

Texas Tech took control of the game in the second half and led 75-66 with 3:14 to go. But the Red Raiders didn’t score for nearly two minutes. And in that span, Florida had completely erased the deficit thanks to two crucial missed free throws.

Tech had a chance to tie the game after Alijah Martin made two free throws with 20 seconds to go. But Darrion Williams' 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go bounced off the rim and Clayton sealed the game at the free-throw line. The Gators finished the game on an 18-4 run. 

Florida got back into the game as Williams and JT Toppin — the Big 12 player of the year — both missed the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities at the line. 

Williams missed a free throw with 2:43 to go in between 3-pointers by Thomas Haugh to cut Tech’s lead to three. Toppin then missed a free throw with 2:08 to go and Clayton hit the first of his two back-to-back threes on the ensuing possession.

Clayton finished the game with 30 points and was 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. Haugh had 20 and was 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Williams and Toppin combined for 43 points, but the points left on the line ended up defining the game more than their combined 18 field goals.

Florida has hounded teams all season long with their length and Tech wasn’t fazed by it, especially in the second half. Toppin had no problems going to the basket and getting buckets as Florida struggled to find an answer for the pick-and-roll combinations that were getting him isolated in the lane.

But the Gators only needed one opportunity to seize, and Tech provided it.

Florida heads to first Final Four since 2014

After the bracket was revealed, Florida was the opening favorite for the national title. And the why was obvious. Florida won the SEC tournament in convincing fashion to earn the final No. 1 seed and entered the tournament on a six-game win streak that included four double-digit victories.

The Gators lost just four games during the regular season and all four of them came to teams that made the SEC tournament. ...