Nevada rallies late to earn datewith Loyola
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Nevada’s Jordan Caroline sat in the Wolf Pack’s locker room and shouted the three words that were being repeated in households across the country. “What just happened?!?” Only a comeback that matched the second- largest in NCAA Tournament history.
Nevada rallied from 22 points down in the final 11 minutes Sunday to stun No. 2 seed Cincinnati 75- 73 in Nashville, Tennessee, and earn its second Sweet 16 appearance ever. Josh Hall converted an offensive rebound with 9.1 seconds left to make the tiebreaking basket and give Nevada its only lead of the game.
“It’s such an unimaginable feeling,” Caroline said.
The seventh- seeded Wolf Pack ( 28- 7) move on to an all- upstart South Region semifinal matchup with 11th- seeded Loyola ( 30- 5) at 6: 07 p. m. Thursday in Atlanta. Nevada’s only previous regional semifinal appearance came in 2004.
“That locker room, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen.”
While Nevada celebrated, Cincinnati’s players stood silently in their locker room wondering how their defense that ranked second among all Division I teams allowed 32 points in the last 11 minutes. The Bearcats ( 31- 5) also failed to make a single basket in the final 5minutes, 45 seconds.
Cody Martin led Nevada’s furious rally by collecting 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists with no turnovers. His twin brother, Caleb, tied the game by making a fadeaway three- pointer from in front of Nevada’s bench with 54 seconds left.
Florida State 75, Xavier 70
The Seminoles ( 22- 11) are on their way to the round of 16 for the first time since 2011 after stunning the top- seeded Musketeers ( 29- 5) in Nashville with a furious comeback.
PJ Savoy made a three- pointer with 1: 08 left to give Florida State its first lead of the second half, and the Seminoles rallied from a 12- point deficit to beat the Musketeers in the second round of theWest Region.
The Seminoles made Xavier the second No. 1 seed ousted in tournament’s first weekend, sending the Musketeers out along with Virginia.
Savoy also hit two free throws with 21.6 seconds left putting Florida State up 73- 70. Kerem Kanter shot an air ball from beyond the arc at the top of the key with seven seconds to go for Xavier, and CJWalker added a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining.
Syracuse 55, Michigan State 53
Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting the 11thseeded Orange ( 23- 13) over the thirdseeded Spartans ( 30- 5) in Detroit.
Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Orange forced the Spartans to settle for three- pointers.
Purdue 76, Butler 73
Dakota Mathias sank a three with 14.2 seconds left and the secondseeded Boilermakers ( 30- 6) held off the 10th- seeded Bulldogs ( 21- 14) in Detroit to reach the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year. Injured center Isaac Haas did not play for the Boilermakers. Purdue faces third- seeded Texas Tech on Friday in Boston.
“We lost our poise there, but then we also regained it,” coach Matt Painter said. “And Dakota Mathias made a huge shot.”
Purdue led by 10 in the second half of this all- Indiana match, but Butler cut the deficit to two and had the ball in the final minute. Kelan Martin missed a three, and the Boilermakers settled down.
Texas A& M86, North Carolina 65
The reigning national champion Tar Heels ( 26- 11) sputtered to the worst NCAA Tournament loss of Roy Williams’ career, overpowered in Charlotte, North Carolina, by the Aggies ( 22- 12).
T. J. Starks scored 21 points and No. 7 seed TexasA& Mmanhandled the second- seeded Tar Heels. The Aggies dominated the glass and used their size to control the paint and block shots. Robert Williams finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50- 36 edge while shooting 52 percent— including 10for- 24 from three- point range.
Kansas State 50, UMBC43
Barry Brown scored 18 points, and the Wildcats ( 24- 11) ended the brief, but historic run in the NCAA Tournament by the Retrievers, ( 2511), who had knocked off Virginia in the first round to become the only No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed.
DePaulwomen lose to Aggies
Freshman Chennedy Carter hit a three with 3.2 seconds left, capping a 37- point performance, to help fifth- seeded Texas A& M ( 26- 9) rally from a 17- point second- half deficit to nip fifth- seeded DePaul ( 27- 8) 80- 79 in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament in College Station, Texas. The Blue Demons were led by Tanita Allen, who had 19 points and Mart’e Grays added 14.