The Big 12 and SEC meet up again in the Big Dance, this time, with a shot at the Final Four on the line. The top ranked Florida Gators take on the 3 seeded Red Raiders of Texas Tech in the Elite Eight in San Francisco. Both teams have now won three straight games (nine straight for Florida) and have a shot at making the trip to San Antonio with one more win today.
Texas Tech has beaten three double digits seeds en route to their Elite Eight appearance. They took down #14 UNC-Wilmington, #11 Drake, and then #10 Arkansas in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. Not very battle tested if you ask me, but they couldn’t help it! I’m sure they planned on having to beat St. John’s and Missouri, but regardless, they find themselves on a date with the Gators.
Florida handled Norfolk State, had an incredible comeback against the two time defending champions, #8 UConn, and then beat #4 Maryland in fairly dominant fashion. Only one win stands between the Gators and the Final Four, something they’ve been looking to get back to since their last appearance in 2014. Can they make it 10 straight wins and punch their ticket to San Antonio? Or will the Red Raiders rally and stop Florida short of greatness?
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#3 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs #1 Florida Gators: Elite Eight Preview
Alex Condon and Florida battle the Texas Tech in the Elite Eight
Matchup Information – Texas Tech vs Florida
- Venue & Location: Chase Center (San Francisco, CA)
- Date: Saturday, March 29th, 2025
- Tip Off: 6:09pm Eastern
- Broadcast: TBS/truTV
Betting Odds
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Spread
- Texas Tech +7 (-110)
- Florida -7 (-110)
Money Line
- Texas Tech +280
- Florida -350
Total
- Over 157 (-112)
- Under 157 (-108)
Can Tech Survive and Advance Against Gators?
JT Toppin leads the Red Raiders in points, boards and blocks this year
Texas Tech should not have beaten Arkansas. But they did and now they are here. After being down 16 points, the Red Raiders kept fighting, eventually forcing overtime and winning it with the extra five minutes. Coach Calipari was sent home with a timeout in his back pocket, and the Hogs’ Cinderella run came to an end. However, that’s a big emotional win.
The Red Raiders just played extra minutes, after the Gators. Their legs are tired. They had the biggest comeback in Sweet 16 history, and that’s a lot to take in, process, and then turn around to face an even tougher foe in two days.
Texas Tech is normally a team that shoots over half their shots from three, and makes over 36%. But over their last 10 games, they are shooting just 33.3%, ranking 197th in the country, and they were a measly 25% from deep against the Hogs (8/32). Even though it was a new gym, the Hogs have a great perimeter defense, and so do the Gators. Florida ranks 5th in 3P% defense, holding their opponents to less than 30% from deep.
I also talked about Texas Tech being undersized against Arkansas, and that doesn’t change against the Gators. Florida is very dominant on both ends of the floor, they are a much deeper team, and I’ll back them to get the job done.
#3 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs #1 Florida Gators Best Bets
Will Richard and the Gators are the most complete team in the country
Texas Tech vs Florida Prediction: Florida Wins & Covers, Over 157
Best Bets: Florida 1H -3.5 (-118) BetOnline
Get in, get out. Texas Tech clearly starts slow against good teams, as we saw Thursday night against Arkansas. I do not believe the Red Raiders have the defense to slow down the Gators early, but Florida’s defense will be more than capable of swallowing up Texas Tech and forcing them to miss.
Like I said, the Red Raiders shoot over 50% of their shots from deep, and when they aren’t falling, it’s hard to keep up with fast, electric offenses like the Gators. Florida will roll out 6’10” center Reuben Chinyelu and 6’11” forward Alex Condon to start. But then they have 6’9″ Thomas Haugh and 7’1″ Micah Handlogten to fill in the front court as well. Texas Tech relies on 6’11” forward Federiko Federiko and 6’9″ JT Toppin to handle the glass, but they are very outmatched in this game.
The Red Raiders have struggled against good rebounding teams and big front courts, given they are very undersized. Tonight I see similar problems they had against Arkansas, only overcoming them will be an even tougher task against Florida. Give me the Gators to dominate all game, but especially in the first 20 minutes.
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