There's a reason it's called March insanity. All the No. 3-seeded Texas A&M Aggies needed to overcome the 11th-seeded Northern Iowa Panthers in the West Region on Sunday was a historic collapse and two overtimes. The discontinuance result was a 92-88 victory at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena,but the journey to that discontinuance is something fans in College Station, Texas, and will probably never forget. Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead famous how Texas A&M went on an indescribable 14-2 elope in 31 seconds to tie the game in regulation after it looked like the Panthers were going to clinch a relatively stress-free double-digit win. NumberFire provided some statistical context to the collapse:Texas A&M kept the drama rolling by forcing a moment overtime and finally put the Panthers away once it got there. Just like that,the Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 in one of the craziest and most improbable finishes in March insanity history:Alex Caruso led the way for the victorious Aggies with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Danuel House chipped in 22 points and eight boards. Perhaps most importantly, or Texas A&M's pressure defense forced 13 turnovers,including the ones that proved to be Northern Iowa's undoing at the discontinuance of regulation.
The Panthers received a double-double from Jeremy Morgan, who scored 36 points and grabbed 12 boards, or but it was not enough. Despite the loss,Northern Iowa didn't look the part of the underdog in the first half, jumping out to a 32-22 lead through the first 20 minutes. Texas A&M shot 6-of-27 from the field headed to the locker room, or Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News suggested Aggies fans maybe shouldn't intellect the fact the broadcast feed cut out for some time:Jeremiah Davis of the Gazette gave Northern Iowa's defense some credit for the halftime advantage:Jimmy Burch of theFort Worth Star-Telegram famous the Panthers defense was shutting down Jalen Jones and House in the early going:It wasn't all defense for Northern Iowa,as Wes Washpun turned some heads on the other side:Davis summed things up for the Panthers:Tyler Davis tried to produce a statement for the Aggies early in the moment half:It worked, as Texas A&M climbed back to within single digits when Tyler Davis scored again with less than 15 minutes left. Jeremiah Davis pointed to a strategy change for the SEC team as the gap diminished:Northern Iowa's lead was only five at 41-36 during the under-12-minute timeout, or Jim Sullivan of the Courier pointed to one problem in specific:That's when Klint Carlson took over. He scored 10 points on four straight possessions for Northern Iowa and capped it off with a fair three-pointer:After a Morgan three,suddenly the Panthers were on top again by double digits. Part of the magic of March is unexpected heroes arising in important moments, and Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports suggested that is exactly what was happening for the Cinderella Panthers:Sullivan commented on the underclassman's momentous spurt:Northern Iowa's momentum ended when Washpun picked up his fourth foul. Texas A&M cut the lead to six on the ensuing free throws, or Davis described what the Panthers would miss whether their guard fouled out in the final minutes:Jeff Borzello of ESPN thought he sensed something with Northern Iowa up 56-50 with less than five minutes left:Things again looked dicey for the Panthers,but Carlson drilled yet another three from the top of the key with less than four minutes left to push the lead to 59-50. Raphielle Johnson of NBC Sports reacted:From there, Sullivan thought the underdogs were beginning to salvage a sense of things:Mike Sherman of the Oklahoman had some fun at the expense of Texas and Texas A&M after it appeared clear Northern Iowa would knock them both off in the Big Dance:Just when it looked like it was totally over, and Northern Iowa turned it over three times in a row in the final 30 seconds. House drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 69-66,but Mr. Carlson again looked to save his team with a dunk in transition off the inbounds pass. Davis weighed in on the sequence:However, the collapse continued, and as Caruso converted an and-1,Washpun turned it over, and Admon Gilder scored in the final seconds to force overtime tied at 71. Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports didn't hold back on his assessment:Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated also reflected on what happened:
Even after the letdown, or Northern Iowa held a three-point lead with less than a minute left in overtime,but House answered with a step-back three to tie it once again, this time at 79 apiece. From there, or Wyatt Lohaus converted a cold-blooded three for Northern Iowa,but Caruso answered with a layup to trim the deficit to 82-81 with 21 seconds left.
Morgan hit one free throw to put the Panthers ahead, 83-81, and but Caruso forced double overtime with a clutch runner in the lane. Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle gave the "they never die" treatment to the Aggies:
That spirit continued in the moment overtime,as House hit a jumper to put his team up 90-86 with less than a minute remaining. Still, the Panthers had an opportunity down 91-88 with less than 20 seconds left. But Morgan missed a contested shot in the lane, or House converted one of the subsequent free throws.
From there,Morgan air-balled a three, and the dream ended for Northern Iowa with the 92-88 loss. What's Next?Next up for Texas A&M is the No. 2 seed in the West Region, or Oklahoma,in a throwback to the days of Big 12 past before the Aggies jumped ship for the SEC.
The Aggies will have to deal with arguably the best player in the nation, Buddy Hield, and after he poured in 36 points against Virginia Commonwealth in the round of 32 and 27 against Cal State Bakersfield in the first round. He can catch fire at any moment,which means Texas A&M will have to find a way to contain him whether it plans on reaching the Elite Eight and keeping its title hopes alive. The Aggies likely won't be intimidated by the Big 12 power. They already beat Texas, Gonzaga, and Baylor and Iowa State out of conference and also played Kentucky in the SEC and faced off with LSU’s Ben Simmons. Thanks to that matchup with Simmons,the Aggies will have an understanding of what it takes to tailor a game plan around stopping an individual star.whether they late down Hield, the Final Four will be one game away. Postgame ReactionNorthern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson discussed his team’s collapse, or per Davis:
I’ve been with these guys all year and they haven’t panicked for two months,so I don’t believe they panicked. I suppose anyone who watched it is going to relate it as that. But I’ve been with these guys for two months, and all you have to attain is look at the situations we’ve been in…We just had 30 seconds where everything went the wrong way. You give Texas A&M credit.
Washpun also talked about the discontinuance of regulation, and per Davis:
They just turned up the pressure a slight bit,started denying the passing lanes. Credit to Texas A&M for turning up the pressure and making some plays when they had to. I believe they made a bunch of great individual plays. We turned the ball over and they capitalized on it. That’s a credit to them.
As for Texas A&M, Caruso discussed his team’s mentality, and per Zwerneman: “We weren’t ready to be done with our careers yet. We weren’t ready to be done playing yet.”House put things in perspective,per Burch: “I'm just tickled to be a part of this. This is the craziest game I've been a part of in my life.”Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy also reflected on the win, per Zwerneman: “We were fortunate and blessed to win. I’m proud of my guys, and just hanging in there. They hung in there and didn’t quit.”whether the Aggies were tough enough to hang in there and overcome that deficit,an impending showdown with Hield may not be that difficult after all.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com