Comeback for the ages
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.
In Knoxville, Tenn., Nevada rallied from 22 points down in the final 11 minutes Sunday to stun No. 2 seed Cincinnati 75-73 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 night.
“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 Chicago (30-5) on Thursday night in Atlanta. Nevada’s only previous regional semifinal appearance came in 2004.
Nevada earned its trip to Atlanta because Cody Martin led a comeback for the ages. The only bigger comeback in NCAA history came in 2012, when Brigham Young beat Iona after trailing by 25 points. Nevada’s rally is tied for second place with Duke, which erased a 22-point deficit to beat Maryland in the 2001 Final Four.
“That locker room right now, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen. It’s the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Meanwhile, 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 also failed to make a basket in the final 5 minutes 45 seconds.
Kansas State 50, UMBC 43: Barry Brown scored 18 points, and Kansas State ended the Retrievers’ brief, but historic run in the NCAA tournament in Dallas. UMBC had only two field goals in the final six minutes and shot just 29.8% for the game. UMBC garnered national attention for its relatively unknown program when it destroyed top-ranked Virginia 74-54 in the biggest upset in college basketball history. It was the first time a No. 16 seed had defeated a No. 1 seed. The Wildcats (24-11) move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. They will face Kentucky on Thursday.