Nevada’s 22-point comeback to stun Cincinnati is the 2nd-biggest in tournament history

Nevada beat Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32 on Sunday in Nashville. The final score was 75-73, the result of one of the greatest tournament comebacks ever (and Nevada’s second huge comeback in as many games).

At one point, Nevada trailed by 22 points. With just more than 14 minutes to play, the deficit 59-41. The Wolf Pack got to work from there and tied the game on a Caleb Martin three-pointer with 54 seconds left. Nevada’s game-tying run was 32-14 in 13:22.

After a defensive stop, the Wolf Pack took their first lead of the game with nine seconds left on a Josh Hall put-back floater. That stood up as the game-winning bucket.

This was the final stop that sealed it:

It’s the second-biggest comeback win in tournament history, the NCAA says:

Let’s look at the Pack’s win probability in graphic form:

Nevada’s last two games have revealed a flare for the dramatic.

Nevada, the South Region’s No. 7 seed, beat Texas in overtime in the round of 64. The Pack trailed by 14 in the second half of that game, so mounting a furious comeback wasn’t some new thing for them. This team might have a bit of a Cinderella feeling given its comebacks and that it comes from the Mountain West, but the Pack are really good. They’ve demonstrated that they can hang with and beat some of the country’s top teams.

Cincinnati, the No. 2., had a great season behind one of the best defenses in the country. The Bearcats had no trouble in a 15-point opening-round win against 15th-seeded Georgia State, and for a while, it looked they looked like they’d have a walk to the Sweet 16.

Nevada had different ideas. The Wolf Pack will play No. 11 Loyola Chicago in a regional semifinal next weekend. This tournament is wide-open.