Arkansas Falls in Sweet 16 in OT to #3 seed (9th-ranked) Texas Tech

March 28, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO – Darrion Williams, who was 2-of-10 from 3-point range, made a triple with 25 seconds left in regulation to force overtime then made a basket in the lane with seven seconds left in overtime to lift the #3 seeded and ninth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders to an 85-83 victory over Arkansas Thursday night in the Chase Center, ending the Razorbacks’ season in the NCAA Sweet 16.

Arkansas finishes with a 22-14 record, earned its 37th NCAA appearance and its 15th NCAA Sweet 16, including its fourth in the last five years. For Razorback head coach John Calipari, he won at least 20 games for the 30th time in 33 years as a collegiate head coach, he made his 24th NCAA appearance and reached his 16th NCAA Sweet 16, with a 12-4 record in the region semifinals.

Johnell Davis scored a season-high 30 points, his fifth career 30-point game and his best in an NCAA Tournament game. He was 11-of-11 at the free throw line (both career highs) and added six rebounds. Karter Knox had 20 points, going 4-of-4 from 3-point range with six rebounds. Trevon Brazile added 11 points and Jonas Aidoo had a team-high nine rebounds.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 38 – Texas Tech: 31

Texas Tech scored first, but Karter Knox answered with a 3-pointer and the Hogs would lead 18:09 of the first 20 minutes.
Arkansas used an early 9-0 run to lead 12-7 and kept control the rest of the half.
Texas Tech got to within five (28-23) with 5:18 left in the half before Arkansas used a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of 13 (38-25) with 1:26 left.
However, the Red Raiders went on a 6-0 run to end the half, including 3-pointer with three seconds left, to provide the 38-31 halftime score.
Arkansas was 7-of-14 from 3-point, but shot just 37.9% from the field overall. However, the Hogs were 9-of-10 at the line.
Texas Tech shot just 35.3% from the field, going 3-of-16 from 3-point.
The rebounds were tied at 21.
Johnell Davis led Arkansas with 14 points and Knox added 11, going 3-of-3 from 3-point.
Kevin Overton led Tech with 10 points off the bench.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas: 34 – Texas Tech: 41

Arkansas got off to a good start in the second half and held a double-digit lead from 14:19 until 8:17.
The Razorbacks led by as many as 16 (61-45) with 10:23 left after a Billy Richmond III layup.
The tide started to turn at the 9:02 mark when Texas Tech had possession for nearly a minute thanks to six offensive rebounds that ended at 8:17 with a Federiko Federiko tip-in to cut Tech’s deficit to 11 (61-50).
Overall, Texas Tech went on a 9-0 run to get to within seven (61-54) with 7:08 to go.
Texas Tech closed the second half on a 16-3 run, including a 10-0 spurt to start, that ended with William’s game-tying 3-pointer.
During the run, Knox drilled a left-corner, 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give Arkansas a 6-point lead (72-66). However, Christian Anderson answered with a 3-pointer with 1:07 left to make it a 3-point game and ultimately set up William’s triple to force OT.
Tech out-rebounded Arkansas 27-17 in the second half.
After its 3-point shooting success in the first half, Arkansas was just 2-of-10 from deep in the second half.
Davis had 16 points in the second half, going 7-of-7 at the line.
Anderson led Tech with 17 second-half points.

OVERTIME: Arkansas: 11 – Texas Tech: 13

Tech scored first, but Arkansas scored the next four points to lead by two.
After a Tech 3-pointer put the Red Raiders back up one, the lead bounced back and forth through the remainder of the overtime.
Down three with 1:30 left, Trevon Brazile sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 81.
JT Toppin and D.J. Wagner traded layups to tie the game at 83 with 34 ticks left.
Tech ran down the clock and Williams scored with seven seconds left.

GAME NOTES:

For the third time this season (and third game in a row), Arkansas’ starting lineup was D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo.
Arkansas won the opening tip.
Tech’s JT Toppin scored the game’s first points with layup at 19:12. Arkansas’ first points came from a Karter Knox 3-pointer.
Zvonimir Ivisic was Arkansas’ first sub.
Arkansas and former Southwest Conference rival Texas Tech have met on 81 occasions and Tech takes a 41-40 lead in the series. The Red Raiders lead 7-5 in games played on neutral courts.
Arkansas and Tech are now tied, 1-1, in NCAA Tourney games.
John Calipari is 1-1 all-time as a head coach versus Texas Tech.
Arkansas 2-3 all-time in San Francisco: In 1948, Arkansas played on back-to-back days in the San Francisco Tournament. In 2022, Arkansas defeated Gonzaga and lost to Duke in the NCAA West Region.

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