Nevada Basketball: Wolf Pack looking to make history…again
By Shaun Gordon
Nevada has a chance to make their first Elite Eight in team history, but they’ll have to get through Loyola-Chicago to continue their historic postseason.
Nevada Basketball has already entered the history books once in this NCAA Tournament. Now they have a chance to do it again.
On Sunday, the Wolf Pack erased a 22-point deficit against Cincinnati in the final 11:34 to stun the Bearcats and punch a ticket to the Sweet 16.
It’s tied for the second largest comeback in Sweet 16 history, behind only BYU’s 25 point reversal in 2012 against Iona.
The difference is, the Cougars started that comeback late in the first half. The Wolf Pack made theirs midway through the second.
Now, Nevada will make their second Sweet 16 appearance in school history. The only other time they advanced to the second weekend was 2004, where they fell to No. 3 seed Georgia Tech 72-67 in the round of sixteen.
If the Wolf Pack can get past Loyola-Chicago, they’ll earn their first-ever berth in the Elite Eight, making history again.
But getting past the Ramblers won’t be an easy task.
A Broken Record
Nevada’s elite offense has squared off against two of the nation’s best defenses in the first two rounds. In fact, their historic comeback came against the second-best scoring defense in the country.
Loyola-Chicago is fourth.
The Ramblers only give up a little more than 62 points per game. However, unlike Nevada’s first two opponents, Loyola-Chicago also boasts an elite offense.
They don’t score an insane amount per game (71.9 ppg), but that’s because they play at one of the slowest places in the nation. They work the ball in their half-court offense to get good looks, and they make their shots.
The Wolf Pack are one of the best shooting teams in the country, but the Ramblers are right there with them.
Both teams shoot an identical 39.8% from beyond the arc. Loyola-Chicago is actually better from inside the arc, while Nevada shoots better from the charity stripe.
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If the Ramblers can keep the game in the 60’s, Nevada may be in some serious trouble. If the game reaches the 70’s, there’s no telling which way it will go. But if the Wolf Pack hit the 80’s, they’ll likely make history for the second time in this tournament.