Caleb Martin Lost His Damn Mind In Nevada's Overtime Win Against Texas

Nevada came back from a 14-point deficit to send Shaka Smart’s Texas squad packing, with guard Caleb Martin providing the final boost the Wolf Pack needed to advance to the second round.

Nevada, a seven-seed, scored 19 points in five minutes of overtime play behind Martin’s 3-of-3 shooting from long range, which was enough to hold off the Longhorns for an 87-83 victory. The win is the program’s first in the NCAA men’s tournament since 2007.

Caleb and his brother Cody used to play at N.C. State, but they transferred out in 2016, selecting Nevada as their landing spot. Both played big minutes Friday (43 for Caleb; 42 for Cody) and both were more than effective on offense—Caleb finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Cody went for 15 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four blocks. Caleb shot just 2-of-7 in the first half and then went 1-of-6 from the field in the second half, with all five misses coming from behind the arc.

Come overtime, though, Caleb played like a man possessed. After Cody opened Nevada’s scoring with a layup 41 seconds into OT, Caleb drained his next three shots—all three-pointers—with his second trey at the 2:27 mark giving the Wolf Pack their first lead since the the 18:27 mark of the first half, when they led 5-2.

The Wolf Pack are in their third season under head coach Eric Musselman, who is understandably fucking pumped about the win. Nevada posted just seven losses both in 2017 and 2018 on their way to back-to-back Mountain West titles; the Wolf Pack will now face two-seed Cincinnati on Sunday.