Mountain West Basketball

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Nevada completed one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA tournament history on a last-second basket by Josh Hall.

The No. 7 seed trailed No. 2 Cincinnati by 22 points late in the second half Sunday but closed the second-round game on a 32-8 run to pull off the 75-73 upset at Bridgestone Arena.

The final points came when Hall grabbed an offensive rebound on a miss by Cody Martin and laid it in for two points with 10 seconds remaining. The Bearcats were unable to tie the game on their last possession.

Hall had a relatively quiet sophomore season but now has 29 points in the Wolf Pack's first two tournament games, with his last field goal being arguably the biggest of his career.

When your team comes back from a 22-point deficit to reach the Sweet 16, you gotta celebrate in style.

Nevada Wolf Pack head coach Eric Musselman couldn't contain his excitement following a 75-73 defeat of the second-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the second round of the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament Sunday.

Musselman removed his shirt and tie as he entered the locker room and was doused with water by his players and assistant coaches:

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The seventh-seeded Wolf Pack are moving on to the regional semifinals for only the second time in program history. Nevada will face off Thursday with the No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, who upset the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers in the second round.

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Warning: Video contains profanity. 

Nevada Wolfpack head coach Eric Musselman was just a little fired up after his team defeated the 10th-seeded Texas Longhorns, 87-83, in overtime on Friday. 

Speaking to his players in the locker room following the Wolfpack's first-round NCAA tournament win, Musselman dropped multiple F-bombs while celebrating with his squad. 

Nevada, the No. 7 seed in the South Region, erased a 14-point second-half deficit to force the extra session. It then erupted for 19 points in overtime to seal the deal. 

The Wolfpack will square off against the No. 2 Cincinnati Bearcats in second-round action on Sunday. 

The seventh-seeded Nevada Wolf Pack survived in overtime, earning an 87-83 win over the 10th-seeded Texas Longhorns in the South Regional of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Senior guard Kendall Stephens was one of five Nevada starters to score in double figures, pouring in a team-high 22 points.

Longhorns freshman forward Mohamed Bamba finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds and fouled out with 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

Bamba's fifth foul capped off what had been a disastrous second half for Texas, though some argued Bamba didn't deserve his early exit:

Chris Hummer of 247Sports countered that Texas had little room for complaint after it threw away what had been shaping up as a comfortable win:

The Longhorns were up 40-26 with 18:43 left in the game before the Wolf Pack stormed back. Nevada junior guard Jordan Caroline had an opportunity to put his team ahead before overtime but made just one of his two free throws after Bamba fouled out.

Texas freshman guard Matt Coleman, who had 25 points in the game, scored five quick points in overtime to get the Longhorns ahead early in the extra frame. The lead didn't hold, though, as a pair of three-pointers from Wolf Pack junior forward Caleb Martin put Nevada ahead 81-77 with 1:38 left.

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Texas junior guard Kerwin Roach II made things interesting with a three-pointer within the final 18 seconds to make it an 85-83 game, but Stephens nailed two free throws to seal the result.

Nevada will meet the second-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the second round. Cincinnati had its hands full with the 15th-seeded Georgia State Panthers before pulling away in the second half to win 68-53.

San Diego State reportedly cleared senior Malik Pope to play in Tuesday's game against Boise State despite his appearance in a report from Yahoo Sports detailing alleged corruption in college basketball. 

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the news Tuesday, noting San Diego State suspended Pope four days prior when documents from ASM Sports agency included in the Yahoo story listed a $1,400 loan next to his name.

According to Zeigler, San Diego State kept Pope out of Saturday's victory over San Jose State after the Yahoo story broke Friday.

Andy Humes, the director of compliance for SDSU's athletic department, released a statement saying the school didn't find any evidence of wrongdoing on Pope's behalf after internally investigating the incident, which freed him up to be reinstated.

"I, along with my family, have never had contact nor accepted anything from the two people named in the story," Pope said when discussing agent Andy Miller and Christian Dawkins, a runner for Miller, per Zeigler. "Since the report, I have worked with our compliance office to show that I have not broken any NCAA rules. I want to thank the San Diego State community for their support and faith in me during this process. I look forward to joining my teammates on the court."

The FBI's probe into college basketball and the bribery and corruption surrounding the sport has dominated headlines as March Madness approaches. Zeigler noted 30 other players, some of them on current rosters, appeared on the list released by Yahoo on Friday.

As for Pope, he is averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game behind a 51.3 percent shooting clip from the field this season, which would all be career-best numbers. His eligibility figures to be key for San Diego State with the chance to finish strong heading into the conference tournament.

It did not appear in the most recent predicted NCAA tournament bracket from Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller but is riding a four-game winning streak and is up to 17-10 overall with two games remaining in the regular season.

Colorado State interim head basketball coach Steve Barnes was suspended by the school prior to Saturday's game against San Jose State.

Per ESPN.com, Colorado State athletic director Joe Parker announced Barnes would be put on paid administrative leave while the school continues to assess the state of its program amid controversy around Larry Eustachy.

Parker announced last week Eustachy was asked to step away from the program as the school investigated his conduct toward players, coaches and members of the Colorado State staff.

Former Rocky Mountain Collegian sports editor Justin Michael reported on Jan. 31 that Eustachy was being investigated for the second time stemming from his behavior directed at people associated with Colorado State.

Per Matt L. Stephens and Kelly Lyell of the Coloradoan, a Colorado State investigation conducted during the 2013-14 academic year revealed Eustachy "created a culture of fear and intimidation and emotionally abused his players."

Stephens also reported Eustachy's contract with the school will be terminated once the two sides meet and presumably negotiate a separation package.

Eustachy, 62, has been with the Rams since the 2012-13 season. He has a 121-76 record in six seasons and one NCAA tournament appearance in his first season.

Colorado State was coached by Jase Herl during Saturday's 90-79 win over San Jose State.

Colorado State men's basketball players boycotted practice Thursday amid reports the university will fire head coach Larry Eustachy.

Sean Star of the Loveland Reporter-Herald reported the news, noting players have become frustrated at a lack of communication from the athletic department.

Eustachy, 62, was placed on administrative leave last week as the university conducts an investigation into his behavior.

Matt L. Stephens of the Denver Post reported Colorado State is planning to fire Eustachy due to repeated allegations of verbally abusive conduct with players. The university placed a zero tolerance policy in his contract in 2014 after a prior investigation.

“We can’t give a guy a zero tolerance policy in 2014, have the conduct continue in 2018 and then just give him another warning,” a source told Stephens.

Eustachy is accused of "repeatedly screaming profanities" at players during practices and in the locker room at halftime and following games. A meeting is scheduled for Friday between Eustachy and the university.

Eustachy was previously fired as the head coach at Iowa State in 2003 after photos of him drinking with and kissing female students surfaced. He has compiled a 121-74 during his nearly six seasons as Colorado State's head coach, leading the program to an NCAA tournament berth in 2013.

Colorado State announced Saturday that it has placed head basketball coach Larry Eustachy on administrative leave as it continues to investigate his conduct. 

"I have asked head coach Larry Eustachy to temporarily step away from the men's basketball program, as he has been placed on administrative leave while we conclude our climate assessment," athletic director Joe Parker said, per ESPN.com. "We are diligently working through this assessment as expeditiously as possible, understanding the importance of a thorough and fair process. No conclusions have been made."

According to ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, Parker said Wednesday the school was going to investigate Eustachy's conduct again after previously doing so during the 2013-14 season. 

That investigation revealed Eustachy fostered "a culture of fear and intimidation and emotionally abused his players," per the Coloradoan's Matt L. Stephens and Kelly Lyell. 

Citing documents from the investigation, Stephens and Lyell reported that Eustachy told assistant coaches to "shut the f--k up" and referred to his players as "f--king c--ts."

Once the investigation concluded, "one high-ranking university official" called for Eustachy to be fired. 

"I am deeply disappointed on a very personal level that someone chose to publicize confidential information from my personnel file," Eustachy said in a statement last February. "That said, I fully recognize that I'm not perfect. I have my faults and strive every day to be better than I was yesterday."

Assistant Steve Barnes will serve as Colorado State's interim head coach in Eustachy's absence. 

With the federal government being shut down overnight, the Air Force Academy has cancelled all of its sporting events for the time being. 

"Due to the government shutdown, all Air Force Academy home and away intercollegiate athletic events have been cancelled until further notice," the academy said in a statement release Saturday, per ESPN.com. "In the event a solution is reached, the Academy will work to reschedule as many missed events as possible."

Per CNN.com, the government shutdown began at midnight after Congress was unable to reach agreement on a stopgap funding bill. 

The Air Force Academy had sporting events in men's and women's swimming, men's and women's basketball, men's ice hockey and men's gymnastics scheduled on Saturday. Men's and women's tennis and wrestling events are scheduled Sunday. 

After Oregon guard Payton Pritchard scored to tie the game at 70 Friday, Boise State guard Lexus Williams dribbled toward half court and swished a long shot for the win.

In the process, the Broncos snapped the Ducks' 46-game win streak at Matthew Knight Arena.

Williams spent three seasons with Valparaiso before transferring to Boise State. Now he's known as the guy who ended the longest home winning streak in the nation.

With the victory, the Broncos improved to 7-1 for the season. The Ducks fell to 5-3 and have dropped three of their past four games.