Mar 18, 2018 6 min read

Josh Hall converted an offensive rebound for the tiebreaking basket with 9.1 seconds left as Nevada erased a 22-point deficit in the final 11 minutes of a stunning 75-73 victory over Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Nevada’s stirring comeback – the second-largest in tournament history – came just two days after the seventh-seeded Wolf Pack rallied from 14 points down to beat Texas 87-83 for its first NCAA victory since 2007.

The Wolf Pack (28-7) move on to an all-upstart South Region semifinal matchup with 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago (30-5) on Thursday night.

“Nothing feels better than this,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “Nothing. Sweet 16!”

Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed, never trailed until Hall’s tiebreaking basket but watched its lead disintegrate as it failed to make a basket in the final 5:45.

With the game tied in the closing seconds, Hall got a rebound off a missed shot by Cody Martin. Hall made a move in the paint and then hit the winning basket.

Cincinnati (31-5) never got off a shot before the buzzer. Cane Broome briefly lost control of the ball and then passed to the area of Gary Clark as the final seconds ticked away.

As the horn sounded, a stunned Clark lay on his back under the basket while Nevada’s Jordan Caroline slid toward midcourt as part of a wild celebration.

Cody Martin had 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and no turnovers to lead five Nevada players in double figures. Evans had 19 and Jarron Cumberland had 17 for Cincinnati.

Syracuse 55, Michigan State 53: The last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.

Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting 11th-seeded Syracuse to a 55-53 win over third-seeded Michigan State and into the Sweet 16.

Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, didn’t make a basket in the last 5:41.

The Orange (23-13) forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for three-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

The Spartans took a school record 37 shots beyond the arc, making just eight of them.

Syracuse has won three straight since being sent to Dayton for the First Four as what the selection committee chairman acknowledged was the final team to receive an at-large bid.

Miles Bridges missed a three with a chance to tie with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a putback, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.

The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a game-tying 3 twice in the closing seconds and the Spartans made two pairs of free throws to pull within a point both times.

Paschal Chukwu connected on one free throw with 2.4 seconds left and the miss gave Michigan State a chance to win in dramatic fashion, but Winston couldn’t make a long shot to be hailed in his hometown.

Texas A&M 86, North Carolina 65: T.J. Starks scored 21 points and Texas A&M overpowered North Carolina inside, upsetting the reigning national champions 86-65 to mark the second straight year a title holder missed the Sweet 16.

The seventh-seeded Aggies (22-12) did everything they had to do to hand the Tar Heels a rare loss in a home-state NCAA game. They dominated the glass. They used their size to control the paint and block shots. And they pounced when UNC’s small-ball lineup couldn’t make an outside shot.

Robert Williams finished with 13 rebounds, helping the Aggies take a 50-36 edge while shooting 52 percent – including 10 of 24 from three-point range.

Joel Berry II scored 21 points in his final game for the second-seeded Tar Heels (26-11), who were trying to reach their third straight Final Four. But they ended up falling to 34-2 in NCAA games in their home state, the only other loss coming in 1979.

Purdue 76, Butler 73: Dakota Mathias sank a 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left and second-seeded Purdue, minus star center Isaac Haas, held off 10th-seeded Butler 76-73 to reach the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

The Boilermakers (30-6) led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Butler (21-14) cut the deficit to two and had the ball in the final minute. Kalen Martin missed a 3-pointer, and the shot by Mathias at the other end made it 76-71.

Martin scored with 2.1 seconds remaining, and P.J. Thompson missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Butler another chance. The Bulldogs called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left, and Kamar Baldwin’s shot from near midcourt hit the rim – although it may have been waved off on a review even if it had gone in.

Vincent Edwards scored 20 points despite early foul trouble for Purdue, and Matt Haarms filled in capably for the injured Haas. The Boilermakers set a school record for victories in a season and are in the regional semifinals for the fourth time under coach Matt Painter. Purdue faces third-seeded Texas Tech on Friday in Boston.

Haas, the 7-foot-2 center who broke his elbow in Friday’s win over Cal State Fullerton, did not play. The 7-foot-3 Haarms started instead and had seven points and six rebounds.

Martin scored 29 points for Butler.

Clemson 84, Auburn 53: Gabe DeVoe scored 22 points and Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson, which closed the first half with a 25-4 run that helped it beat cold-shooting Auburn 84-53 and advance to the Midwest Region semifinal.

The blowout win put Clemson (25-9) into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time overall and the first since 1997, earning it a spot against Kansas in the regional semifinal.

Jared Harper made a jumper with 10:33 before halftime to pull Auburn to 18-15. The Tigers then missed their next 18 field goals as Clemson raced to a 43-19 halftime lead.

Clemson scored 17 straight points, highlighted by three-pointers by Anthony Oliver II and DeVoe, to make it 35-15.

Mustapha Heron and Bryce Brown scored 12 points apiece for Auburn and Horace Spencer had 10.

Marcquise Reed added 16 for Clemson and Shelton Mitchell had 10.