SAN FRANCISCO — Given that he was compared earlier this week to the Bay Area’s favorite 3-point shooter, it makes sense that in a tight game, with his team’s national championship hopes slipping away, Walter Clayton Jr. would be the one to take — and make — the biggest shot of the night.

Florida is headed to the Final Four after an 84-79 win over Texas Tech, and it’s due largely to Clayton’s timely shot-making.

After two consecutive one-and-one misses from Texas Tech, Clayton stepped back, pulled up and drained a 3 with 1:47 to play, tying the score at 75 with the biggest shot of his career.

Or maybe the biggest shot was the 3-pointer Clayton hit just 48 seconds later, after Tech had regained the lead, 77-75. That make gave Florida the lead back, 78-77, and then, after a missed 3 by Tech’s Darrion Williams, a couple of made free throws from Florida and another missed 3 by Williams, Clayton stepped to the line with 10.2 seconds to play, his team up a possession, 80-77. He drained both.

Clayton, however, doesn’t remember much of this. Asked about those shots afterward, with his championship hat sitting askew on his head and a piece of the net wrapped around the snapback, he was brutally honest: “I kind of blacked out,” he admitted.

But surely everyone else in the gym will remember this performance. The senior guard from Florida, who was named the most outstanding player of the West Regional, finished with 30 points, eight in the final 107 seconds. He also went 13-of-14 from the line, including 11-of-12 in the second half.

Perhaps more impressive is the fact that before those two huge 3s, Clayton was just 1-of-6 from deep. That he would step up and hit shots when his team needed them most is, in fact, very Steph Curry-like.

“There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment,” Florida coach Todd Golden said, a towel draped over his shoulders after an obvious celebratory water-bottle shower in the locker room.

“As he said, he blacked out or whatever — he doesn’t get too high or too low. He does a great job controlling his emotions. Most players in that moment, their heart rate would get up. He has that special talent and ability to stay even-keeled.”

Or, as Thomas Haugh put it, gesturing at Clayton: “With guards like these, games are never over.”

Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said that he didn’t “do a good enough job keeping the ball out of Clayton’s hands” the last five minutes, praising the guard for his craftiness and change of pace, all of which make him “such a hard cover.”

Tech did nearly everything right for 38 minutes, but the missed free throws gave the Gators life, and the sliver of daylight Clayton found in his stepback was enough to win the game.

Clayton said he was locked into the game and therefore not fully absorbing how big those shots were. But he did notice that when he finally managed to get free and connect on some looks, Tech players turned to their bench in disbelief, throwing their hands out and asking, “How?”

The Red Raiders finished 7-of-13 from the free-throw line (54 percent). The Gators were 25-of-27 (93 percent).

“That’s not what got us beat,” McCasland said of the missed foul shots. “We pushed the tempo a little too much late in the game.”

It’s the Gators’ first trip back to college basketball’s promised land since 2014.

This has been one of the chalkiest NCAA Tournaments in nearly two decades. The eight teams playing in the Elite Eight on Saturday and Sunday have a seed total of 13 (only one more than the minimum), tying a record set in 2007. That year, Florida was also a No. 1 seed and won the second of back-to-back national championships.

Clayton was the star, but he had help. Thomas Haugh scored 20 points for Florida and snagged 11 rebounds, and Alijah Martin chipped in 10 points and seven boards. Haugh was named to the West Regional all-tournament team.

“Multiple guys don’t get enough recognition. Tommy is definitely one of them,” Clayton said. “There’s a lot more to his game, but he’s sacrificing for the team. He plays his role and does everything we need him to do. I’m thankful for him, and I love him.”

Even after his heroics on Saturday, Clayton wasn’t ready to concede that he is, in fact, comparable to the greatest shooter of all time.

Curry’s resume is obviously more extensive than Clayton’s. But one thing not included on Curry’s long list of accomplishments is a national championship.

Clayton, at least for now, still has a shot.

(Photo of Walter Clayton Jr.: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)