The Nevada Wolfpack came back from 14 points down in the second half to knock off the Texas Longhorns 87-83 in overtime in the Round of 64 on Friday, March 16. Texas looked set to claim its first NCAA Tournament win under Shaka Smart, but Nevada roared back with some hot shooting to get the win in overtime. Nevada opened as a 1.5-point favorite in this one. However, late action led to this game closing as a pick ’em. The game would have finished under the total of 143.5 had it ended in regulation, but overtime pushed it over.
With the win, Nevada will now face the No. 2 seed Cincinnati Bearcats in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The betting odds for that showdown will be released soon by BetDSI Sportsbook. Cincinnati should be around a seven-point favorite against a Nevada team that showed its mettle by rallying to win.
Texas has struggled at the free throw line all season long, and it came back to bite the Longhorns in a big way here. The team went just 10-18 from the line, allowing Nevada to get back into the game late.
In the final seconds of regulation, the Wolfpack caught a huge break when Mo Bamba fouled out of the game. Bamba had been incredible and had defended the paint well for Texas. It was no coincidence that Nevada hit its first six shots in overtime as soon as Bamba was removed from the action.
Give credit to Nevada for making the most of those opportunities to win though. For as much as Texas blew it, Nevada ended up winning it due to some big threes from Caleb Martin and Kendall Stephens down the stretch.
At the start of the NCAA Tournament, Nevada was a pretty big longshot to win March Madness with odds of +25000 at BetDSI. Cincinnati had the longest odds of any two seed to win it all at +2500.
