Cincinnati vs. Purdue: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

Madness. 

That was really the only word that could be used to describe the Cincinnati Bearcats thrilling overtime victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Cincinnati's never-ending persistence paid off in the way of a 66-65 win. 

NCAA March Madness tweeted out the final result:

Like a zombie that just keeps coming back, the Bearcats simply refused to go down without a fight. Despite Purdue leading for the vast majority of the game, Larry Davis' squad continued to fight its way back in the game. 

With the Bearcats down by as many as seven with 48 seconds remaining, Cincinnati just kept plugging away until Troy Caupain tied the game up at 59 as time in regulation expired. 

In overtime, the Bearcats carried their last-minute momentum to an advantage. A layup from Farad Cobb put them up 66-63 in the defensive extra period. 

A missed buzzer-beating attempt from Purdue's Vince Edwards sealed the deal for Cincinnati. 

Cobb, Caupain and Gary Clark led the way for the 'Cats. Cobb contributed 14 points while Clark stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of nine points, 12 rebounds, two steals and a block. 

A.J. Hammons put in an admirable 17-point, 10-rebound performance for Purdue. 

Cincinnati caught a nice break early in the first half. After starting 2-for-2 on the offensive side of the floor, Hammons picked up his second foul before the 10-minute mark of the first half, opening up the inside for the Bearcats, as noted by Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Of course, losing a seven-footer isn't as big a deal when you have another one waiting in the wings. Freshman Isaac Haas put together a nice first half to pace the Boilermakers to a 29-26 lead in the first half:

Cincinnati associate head coach Larry Davis highlighted rebounding as a key component for his Bearcats in the second half, via Ryan Krasnoo of Sports Illustrated:

Unfortunately, that task would become even more difficult for the No. 8 seed. Forward Octavious Ellis was ejected from the game for a flagrant two when he struck Hammons. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports tweeted out footage of the incident:

Regardless of what went wrong for Cincinnati, the Boilermakers couldn't seem to pull away. As Jerry Palm of CBS Sports noted, Purdue's offense created plenty of open looks from distance, but couldn't seem to connect:

It wasn't pretty basketball. Neither of these teams hang their hats on high-scoring affairs. But the Bearcats perseverance and the Boilermakers inability to take advantage of their opportunities set up for the exciting finish. 

NumberFire visualized the madness:

Cincinnati once again showed that its trademark defense makes it a tough out even if the offense isn't all that dynamic. "We know we're the most physical team when we step out on the court," Bearcats junior Shaq Thomas said via Nathan Baird of the Indianapolis Star. "We knew we've got to be the best defensive team, because the offense might not be there one night. You might miss all your shots in a game. But we know if we work on defense, we can stop the other team from scoring, so that's what we've got to do."

This is a big win for the Bearcats program. A loss would have marked the third consecutive season in which Cincinnati was eliminated after just one game in the big dance. However, picking up a second victory will prove to be a formidable task. 

Larry Davis' squad will most likely have the dubious distinction of taking on the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in the round of 32. The overall No. 1 seed in the tournament takes on No. 16 seed Hampton late Thursday night. 

The odds will definitely be stacked against the No. 8 seed. Then again, overcoming odds isn't something that seems to bother this team.