The Nevada Wolf Pack staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in NCAA history, erasing a 22-point second-half deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 75-73 on Sunday night during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The Wolf Pack trailed 65-43 with 11:34 to play but managed not only to cover the spread as 7.5-point underdogs but also win outright. The game also went over the total of 137 points.
Nevada moves on to face Loyola of Chicago in the Sweet 16 next week in Atlanta. Odds for that matchup will soon be released by the BetDSI Sportsbook, but the Wolf Pack figures to be a slight favorite in a matchup of two of the tournament’s biggest Cinderella stories.
Game recap
Josh Hall collected an offensive rebound and scored on a short jump shot with 10 seconds left to break a 73-73 tie, and the Bearcats couldn’t get a shot off in the final seconds.
Cincinnati dominated the game’s first 30 minutes, opening up a 10-0 lead, holding a 44-32 edge at halftime and extending it to 65-43 on a Jarron Cumberland layup just after the under-12 timeout in the second half. But Nevada scored the next 16 points to close to 65-59, and the Wolf Pack continued to chip away until Caleb Martin tied the game at 73 with a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining.
Cody Martin, Caleb’s twin brother, led Nevada with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Josh Hall scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench, and Jordan Caroline and Kendall Stephens each scored 13 points. As a team, Nevada shot 49 percent from the field and withstood poor 9-of-16 free-throw shooting.
Jacob Evans scored 19 points to lead Cincinnati. Cumberland added 17 points before fouling out, and Gary Clark (11 points and 10 rebounds) and Kyle Washington (10 points and 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles. The Bearcats shot 40.9 percent from the field and scored just eight points in the final 11:34.
It was Nevada’s second straight comeback win. The Wolf Pack trailed Texas by 14 points in the second half of its first-round matchup before rallying to win in overtime.
Looking ahead
Nevada was a longshot to cut down the nets in San Antonio before the tournament began, with +25000 odds. The Wolf Pack isn’t going to become a favorite now, but those odds have decreased dramatically with two come-from-behind victories and a favorable matchup in the Sweet 16.
