Texas A&M Advances To Sweet 16 With 92-88 Win Over Northern Iowa In 2OT
Bryan Altman, CBS Local Sports
A 14-2 run in 44 seconds. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Well, if I didn't just see it with my own two eyes I might just agree with you. But it happened. And the old adage of 'well, it's March Madness…' That doesn't even do this finale justice. This was some kind of lunacy that 'madness' doesn't even scrape the barrel of.
The Panthers lead the Aggies 69-57 with just 44 seconds left to play but a vicious full-court press from the Aggies resulted in mass confusion from Northern Iowa on multiple in-bounds passes that kept giving Texas A&M life.
The Panthers committed four turnovers on five possessions – three on inbounds passes alone. Of course, A&M converted each time as well.
Somehow, the Panthers survived the first overtime period, but in OT No. 2, the Aggies finished their insane comeback and won 92-88.
Here's how it went down play-by-play in the last minute, courtesy of CBS Sports. (Note: Turnovers in bold).
37.0: 69-57 TEXAM Alex Caruso missed 3-pt. Jump Shot
37.0: TEXAM Offensive Rebound by Admon Gilder
34.0: 69-59 TEXAM Admon Gilder made Layup
31.0: NIOWA 30-second Timeout
31.0: NIOWA Lost ball turnover on Jeremy Morgan, Stolen by Admon Gilder
25.0: 69-61 TEXAM Danuel House made Layup, Assist Admon Gilder
Let's pause here for a second. It was after the A&M timeout listed below where things went completely off the rails for the Panthers. Their usual inbound man, Matt Bohannon, went out with an injury and the Panthers couldn't handle the pressure from A&M.
25.0: TEXAM 30-second Timeout
23.0: NIOWA Lost ball turnover on Paul Jesperson, Stolen by Jalen Jones
21.0: 69-63 TEXAM Jalen Jones made Dunk Shot
21.0: NIOWA Bad pass turnover on Wyatt Lohaus
19.0: 69-66 TEXAM Danuel House made 3-pt. Jump Shot, Assist Alex Caruso
18.0: 71-66 NIOWA Klint Carlson made Dunk Shot, Assist Paul Jesperson
The solution Northern Iowa came up with for their inbound woes was to launch a Hail Mary of an inbounds to a streaking Klint Carlson, who easily made a dunk. At this point, up five, you're thinking, 'wow, they actually survived that dumpster fire.' Nope. Not at all.
12.0: 71-68 TEXAM Alex Caruso made Driving layup
12.0: 71-69 TEXAM Alex Caruso made Free Throw
4.0: NIOWA Lost ball turnover on Wes Washpun, Stolen by Admon Gilder
2.0: 71-71 TEXAM Admon Gilder made Driving layup
1.0: 71-71 NIOWA Wes Washpun missed 3-pt. Jump Shot
0.0: End of half.
From there, it became the continuation of the Danuel House show. House was 0-9 shooting with 26 seconds left in regulation and finished the 2OT game with 22 points. To say he went off would be putting it lightly.
This was one of the biggest collapses in NCAA Tournament history – or, I guess if you're an Aggies fan, one of the greatest comebacks.
Either way, simply stunning.
Bryan Altman is, for some reason, an unabashed fan of the Rangers, Jets and Mets. If he absolutely had to pick a basketball team it would be the Knicks, but he'd gladly trade them for just one championship for any of his other three teams.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)