Texas Tech Makes NCAA Tournament History Against John Calipari, Arkansas

Texas Tech Makes NCAA Tournament History Against John Calipari, Arkansas

In his first season with the Arkansas Razorbacks, coach John Calipari was able to take down two legendary coaches in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including Kansas’ Bill Self and St. John’s Rick Pitino.I

However, No. 10 seed Arkansas’ season ended in the Sweet 16 after the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders stole an 85-83 overtime win in the NCAA Tournament.

All tied up at 83 apiece, Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams hit a layup with just seven seconds remaining in overtime to give the Red Raiders a two-point lead.

With one timeout remaining, Calipari elected to let his players play before Arkansas’ DJ Wagner attempted a heavily contested fadeaway two-pointer at the buzzer.

The ball hit the front of the rim, bouncing away and ending the game and the Razorbacks’ season.

Texas Tech was able to storm all the way back and steal the win after falling behind by 16 points with just over 10 minutes to play in the second half. In fact, according to ESPN, the Red Raiders’ comeback marks the second-largest comeback ever in the Sweet 16.

Not only that, but after taking a seven-point lead into halftime, Calipari now loses his first NCAA Tournament game when leading by 6+ points at halftime.

He was previously 35-0. “THE RED RAIDERS COMPLETE THE SECOND-LARGEST COMEBACK EVER IN THE SWEET 16.”

Calipari’s first season with Arkansas could be viewed as a success. He finished with a 22-14 record, taking the Razorbacks to their fourth Sweet 16 of the 2020s.

Texas Tech, on the other hand, will advance to its third Elite Eight in program history and first since 2019, facing No. 1 seed Florida Gators on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET.