Aggies' unforgettable comeback sets up tilt with OU in Sweet Sixteen

OKLAHOMA CITY – 'The OMG in OKC' — Texas A&M’s shocking comeback for a 92-88 double overtime NCAA Tournament victory over Northern Iowa — will go down as the greatest moment in the Aggies’ basketball history.

It may make an enormous impact on their near future, too.

The improbable rally from a 69-57 deficit with 34 seconds remaining may give A&M a “team of destiny” attitude as the Aggies advance to the Sweet Sixteen round to face Oklahoma on Thursday.

At the very least, it should fuel more confidence. No doubt, the Aggies will have the sense that anything is indeed possible.

“It just shows that we’re going to fight to the end,” senior forward Jalen Jones said. “Any team that plays against us, we’re not going to give up. There is no quit in us. We showed that.”

Freshman Admon Gilder, who got a steal and scored the tying layup that sent the game into overtime, said the Aggies had demonstrated that throughout the season when they won a share of the Southeastern Conference championship.

“We don’t give up no matter what,” Gilder said. “We’ve been through the struggles. We lost five games in our (conference) season and came back and won the conference title. Therefore, we don’t give up for nothing and for nobody.”

A&M’s refusal to give up resulted in the greatest come-from-behind victory in NCAA history.

Earlier this season Canisius rallied from an 11-point deficit with 58 seconds left to defeat ULM, 108-96, in triple overtime of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.

Nevada-Las Vegas came back from an 11-point deficit with 59 seconds remaining to beat San Diego State, 93-91, in overtime in 2005.

Other historic comebacks include:

• In 2001, Duke defeated Maryland, 98-96, in overtime after trailing by 10 with 55 seconds left.
  
  
• In 2009, Arizona defeated Houston, 96-90, in overtime after trailing 85-75 with 48 seconds left.
  
  
• In 1993, New Mexico State defeated New Mexico, 112-104, in double overtime after trailing 78-69 with 55 seconds left.
  
  
• In 1974, North Carolina defeated Duke, 96-92, in overtime after trailing 86-78 with 17 seconds remaining.

However, none of those games were in the NCAA Tournament.

A&M’s victory over Northern Iowa will be listed among the most iconic moments in the history of March Madness. It surely will be remembered in the same context as Tyus Edney’s miracle drive to lift UCLA over Missouri in the second round of the 1995 West Regional or Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beating jump shot to lift Duke over Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional final.

UCLA and Kentucky both went on to win the national championship those years.

The Aggies can’t look that far ahead.

Despite their amazing victory, they did not play well against Northern Iowa. They shot just 22.2 percent in the first half. High-scoring Danuel House missed his first nine shots. The Aggies allowed a dozen three-point field goals to Northern Iowa.

That may be concerning when A&M faces Oklahoma. Sooners guard Buddy Hield has hit 136 field goals and is shooting .463 percent from three-point range this season. He hit six three-pointers and scored 36 points in OU’s 85-81 second round victory over Virginia Commonwealth.

A&M must find a way to at least slow him down.

“It’s going to take a team effort,” Alex Caruso said. “There’s not one guy I’m not good enough to guard him by myself. I don’t think anybody else on our team would say they were. We’ll just be ready to take care of him (Hield) and the rest of the guys that are shooting 50 percent from there, too. We’ll be ready to go, though. It will take a full team effort.”

Of course, this team has proved that anything is possible.