Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: One last time to salute JT Toppin, Darrion Williams, Elijah Hawkins, and Chance McMillian. Toppin finished with another double-double, 20 points and 11 boards. Williams had 23 with 5 boards. Hawkins had just 3 points, but 7 assists and 1 turnover. McMillian had 14 after missing weeks of play.
The Motion:
- Dang. The regrets are pretty simple. Texas Tech shot 13 free throws and made just 7, while Florida made 25 of 27. Both Darrion Williams and JT Toppin had the chance to make the front end of one-and-one’s and they both missed. Something that normally just doesn’t happen normally. In fact Toppin was 0-5. Making those free throws changes a lot of things. I’d also add that the inability to stop Florida down the stretch, or maybe they just made shots, was the difference, but Texas Tech didn’t have a defensive answer.
- I also sort of felt like Texas Tech was worn down by Florida’s height. The Gators did out-rebound Texas Tech, 42-35 overall and had 10 more defensive boards than Texas Tech.
- I’m disappointed in this outcome, but not disappointed in the season at all. At this point, Texas Tech was playing with house money, i thought they were a top 8 team in the nation and the stats through the season proved that to be true, so they deserved to be here, but I don’t know that anyone expected this after last year’s early exit from the tournament. McCasland and his crew have turned it around as a program and I am really confident in his ability to lead this program in this new era of NIL. He gets it and he’s introspective and he’ll figure out what needs to be better.
- For the guys that might come back (in this day, we really don’t know) I think that Christian Anderson is just going to get better as a scorer and I think he’ll have to work on his consistency, which is really difficult to do as a freshman. Kevin Overton is the same, I think his defensive lapses will need work, so focus, and to continue to work on his shot. Federiko Federiko has the opportunity to return and I think that if he were to steal Toppin’s hook shot would be something.
- Chance McMillian was maybe my favorite player this year, even with Toppin. I don’t know what it was about McMillian, but he was. After missing a few weeks, he returned and made 14 points, on 5 of 11, 2 of 5 from deep, 3 boards and no turnovers. He wasn’t perfect, but I think what would happen if he were fully healthy and could play more than 26 minutes.
- Some final numbers. Texas Tech had 22 points off of turnover to just 5 for Florida and also had 23 2nd chance points to just 8 for Florida. The Gators had 12 fast break points to just 3 for Texas Tech. Texas Tech was right there.
- Salute to JT Toppin, Darrion Williams, Elijah Hawkins, Chance McMillian and Kerwin Walton. It is my guess that none of those guys will return next year and if they do not, I appreciate everything you’ve done for your careers and how good you’ve been for Texas Tech. Thank you.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “I’m thankful. I’m just thankful that this group of guys, I think, did get a taste and did get to see what it means to really love your teammates the way that I think God tells us to give everything we have. And I mean it. Like, how do you give everything you have? How do you lay down your life? How do you sacrifice for other people? How do you love other people in a real way? I think that’s what builds from year to year. I believe that’s the heart of the guys that we have and that’s what will be the most important part of these rosters is that heart. We’ll be able to do it with the guys that we’ll have returning because of it.”
- Advanced stats had Williams at +15.0, Walton +7.6, McMillian +7.3, Toppin +4.9, Federiko +4.5, Overton +3.9, Anderson +2.1, and Hawkins was -0.6.
- Up next? Transfer portal.
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