Darrion Williams could barely make a shot for the first 30 minutes. He didn’t miss when it mattered most, sending Texas Tech to an improbable spot in the Elite Eight.

Williams scored the go-ahead basket with 7.3 seconds left in overtime after tying the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to lead Texas Tech to an 85-83 win over Arkansas on Thursday night in San Francisco.

“The heart of the team is Darrion Williams,” coach Grant McCasland said. “He just is a resilient guy. I can’t even explain it. I put faith in him because I do believe that he’ll find a way in one-game scenarios to do whatever it takes to win. I honestly do. Whatever it takes.”

The first overtime game of March Madness came thanks to a furious comeback by the third-seeded Red Raiders (28-8) from 13 points down with less than 5 minutes left against coach John Calipari’s 10th-seeded Razorbacks (22-14).

Texas Tech advanced to play top-seeded Florida in the West Region final today with a chance at the school’s second Final Four trip after losing the title game to Virginia in 2019.

That idea seemed far-fetched for most of this game as Arkansas broke out to a double-digit lead early and was in control most of the way, leading by as many as 16 points in the second half.

“In the huddle, Coach said we’re going to find a way to win this no matter how much we’re down,” guard Christian Anderson said. “As a team we had that look, we’re not losing this game no matter what. ... We had to find a way to make it happen. And at the end we did, so that was it.”

Williams helped will Texas Tech down the stretch after opening the game by missing 13 of his 15 shots in front of a large contingent of his friends and family that came from Sacramento for the game.

But the Red Raiders closed regulation with a 16-3 run behind three 3-pointers from Anderson and three baskets from Williams. The biggest came when he rattled in a 3 with 9.7 seconds left.

Williams had missed eight of his first nine attempts from 3 before that make.

JT Toppin then scored to start overtime and give Texas Tech its first lead since the opening minutes and it went back and forth from there, with D.J. Wagner tying it for Arkansas with 34 seconds left.

Williams then scored down low to give Texas Tech the lead and Wagner’s last shot hit the front rim, sending the Red Raiders into a wild celebration at midcourt following the third biggest comeback in Sweet 16 history.

Anderson scored 22 points to lead Texas Tech, while Toppin and Williams added 20 apiece.

Johnell Davis scored 30 points for the Razorbacks and Karter Knox added 20.

Florida 87, Maryland 71: Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, and the top-seeded Gators played a steady second half to run away from the No. 4-seeded Terrapins in the other West Region semifinal Thursday night in San Francisco.

Walter Clayton Jr. had 13 points and four assists as Florida’s Big Three seniors and their deep supporting cast took down the Maryland “Crab Five” starters — one of Terrapins’ coach Kevin Willard’s concerns coming into this matchup.

Freshman sensation Derik Queen scored 27 points to lead Maryland (27-9) in what might have been Willard’s final game guiding the program. He has been linked to the opening at Villanova.

EAST REGIONAL

Alabama 113, BYU 88: Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25 and guard Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past the Cougars on Thursday night.

Alabama (28-8) reached the Elite Eight in consecutive years for the first time in program history.

The Crimson Tide, who will play Duke today for a trip to the Final Four, made 25 of 51 3-point attempts to break the record of 21 set by Loyola Marymount in 1990. Sears, a first-team All-America, made the record-breaking 22nd 3-pointer late in the game to make it 97-66.

Richie Saunders scored 25 points for BYU (26-10).

Duke 100, Arizona 93: Duke freshman Cooper Flagg put on a skills clinic and overcame an onslaught from Arizona and Caleb Love, finishing with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks.

Flagg did enough to prevent Love, a thorn in Duke’s side for five years, from ruining another Duke season. Love, who formerly played at Duke rival North Carolina, scored 35 points, including a streak of 12 straight for Arizona (24-13) during a second-half run that cut a 19-point deficit to as close as five with 1:56 left.