Florida Will Continue To Roll Against Red Raiders

Texas Tech vs. Florida, 6:09 ET

We've reached the Elite Eight. This has been a great tournament, but I'll be honest, Thursday was a frustrating day for me. In the Alabama game, I thought the total was just too high. I was very wrong as the teams combined to not only go over the total, they basically smacked me around for 40 minutes and made me look like an idiot. It happens, I guess it is better to be very wrong and move on than have a heart-breaker. I'll survive and look to get it back here in a matchup between Texas Tech and Florida.

Texas Tech isn't a team that I've covered much in the tournament, but they have quietly put together a nice run. Let's start with their regular season. AT the end of the regular season campaign, the team was 24-7 with a strong 15-5 record in conference. They play in the Big 12 which is not my favorite conference, but still a decent one nonetheless. Their losses came against UCF, Iowa State, Arizona, TCU, and Houston. The most impressive victory on their schedule came against the Cougars though as well, heading into Houston and beating them by one point in overtime. Of the losses that the Red Raiders have taken in the regular season, they had a one-point loss, one by five points, another one-point, nine points, three points, and then eight points. In the Big 12 Tournament, they barely escaped Baylor before falling to Arizona by six points. The reason I bring this up is that they've at least been competitive in every game; not all schools can boast that. In the NCAA Tournament, they have faced UNC Wilmington, and won by 10. Then played Drake and won by 13. But the game against Arkansas was one they were losing almost the entire time, but somehow found a way to win. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: The Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-83 during overtime in the West Regional Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 27, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Florida has been a team that I've spoken on quite a bit and was one that we cashed on for getting the SEC Championship prior to the tournament starting. It wasn't a super long shot or anything, but still was nice to line our pockets prior to the NCAA Tournament. Florida, as deserving of a #1 seed as any in the college ranks, has put together a 33-4 record this year. Their four losses have come from Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia. Of those teams, Tennessee, and Kentucky remain (at the time of writing this). The other two teams are not ones I would consider great, but they made the tournament. They are currently riding a nine-game winning streak, and looking for more. In the first game of the tournament, they coasted past Norfolk State. In the second game, it wasn't quite as easy, but the final score also looks a lot closer than the end of the game felt. They won by just two, but UConn also hit a three at the buzzer, so they were actually up five. Against Maryland, they had a close first half, but then blew the game open in the second, coasting to a 16 point win. 

The SEC is just a better conference this year than any of the other ones. I'm not saying Florida will win this game because they are in the SEC, but they are going to win this game. They have a dynamic backcourt that I don't think Texas Tech will be able to handle. The teams that have beat them also have good guard play. I'm not sure anyone beats Florida this year, and although this game might be fairly close for a while, I think Florida puts it away and covers the -6.5. 

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