March Madness 2025: Florida Gators match up with Texas Tech Raiders in Elite Eight
It looked like No. 1 Florida would face No. 10 Arkansas in the Elite Eight for most of Thursday night’s Sweet 16 matchup between the Razorbacks and No. 3 Texas Tech Raiders, but a late comeback spoiled the SEC matchup and set up a 1-seed versus 3-seed regional final to determine which team advances to the Final Four.
Florida and Texas Tech will face off on Saturday, March 29 at 6:09 p.m. EDT at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Kevin Harlan will be on the call for the TBS/truTV broadcast, with Dan Bonner and Stan Van Gundy as analysts. Lauren Shahdi will serve as the sideline reporter.
The Gators took down the Maryland Terrapins, 87-71, behind a strong second half Thursday night. There are some question marks regarding Florida forward Alex Condon’s health after he suffered an apparent ankle injury in the first half of the game, but he did play in the second half.
Florida is 2-1 all-time against Texas Tech, but both of those wins came in the 60s and one needed two overtimes to decide the winner. The most recent matchup between the two programs came in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, a 69-66 loss for the Orange and Blue. Florida was a 6-seed that year and an underdog, but now the Gators enter the matchup as the team to beat, the No. 1 seed in the West Region.
There’s far more on the line this time around, too. Florida is looking for its first trip to the Final Four since 2014, and Texas Tech has only been there once in 2014, the season the Raiders finished as the national runner-ups. Both teams feature a top-5 offense, per KenPom, but Florida’s defense is more efficient.
