NORTH TEXAS
No. 13 Mean Green score big upset.
INDIANAPOLIS — To be, or not to be? For an underdog named Javion Hamlet and his group of scrapping North Texas teammates, that was an easy question.
Hamlet scored 24 points and Thomas Bell had 16, along with some gamechanging defense in overtime, to lift the 13th-seeded Mean Green to a 78-69 win over No. 4 Purdue on Friday in the NCAA Tournament.
Bell opened overtime with a 3, then altered two Purdue shots underneath to help the Mean Green score the first 11 points in extra time.
NO. 15 ORAL ROBERTS 75 NO. 2 OHIO ST. 72 (OT)
Ohio State’s players were dancing around in the moments before tipoff against Oral Roberts, relaxed and full of swagger.
The Buckeyes aren’t dancing anymore. The 15th-seeded Golden Eagles pulled off the first major upset of the first NCAA Tournament in two years, holding off second-seeded Ohio State 75-72 in overtime on Friday at West Lafayette, Ind.
“When they rank them, it was only just a number at the end of the day,” said Kevin Obanor, who led Oral Roberts with 30 points and 11 rebounds. “We put our shoes on just as the other team puts their shoes on. We just had the mindset of, ‘Show us that you deserve to be No. 2,’ and we came out with a lot of confidence.”
The Golden Eagles (1710) will play seventh-seeded Florida in the South Region on Sunday.
NO. 3 ARKANSAS 85 NO. 14 COLGATE 68
Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Razorbacks shut down the high-scoring Raiders to open the NCAA Tournament with a win at Indianapolis.
The third-seeded Razorbacks (23-6) fell behind early then went on a 19-0 run spanning halftime and scored 10 straight points late to pull away.
Arkansas advances to play Texas Tech on Sunday.
NO. 1 ILLINOIS 78, NO. 16 DREXEL 49
Kofi Cockburn muscled his way to 18 points and the Illini cruised past the Dragons at Indianapolis.
Illinois (23-6) will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday.
NO. 7 FLORIDA 75 NO. 10 VA. TECH 70 (OT)
Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a step-back 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and the Gators held off the Hokies at Indianapolis.
Castleton, a transfer from Michigan, was dominant on the inside and Mann showed up with a pair of key 3-pointers late to send the Gators (15-9) into the second round to face Oral Roberts.
NO. 12 OREGON ST. 70 NO. 5 TENNESSEE 56
Roman Silva scored 16 points and the Beavers took advantage of Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting to beat the Volunteers at Indianapolis.
Oregon State (18-12) became the first Pac-10/12 school to win the conference tournament after being picked to finish last.
Oregon State moves on to face Oklahoma State on Sunday.
NO. 8 LOYOLA CHICAGO 71 NO. 9 GEORGIA TECH 60
Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz and the Ramblers won at Indianapolis.
The surprise national semifinalist in 2018, the Ramblers (25-4) were relegated to the NIT the following year and missed out on the tournament — along with everyone else — when it was canceled due to COVID-19 last season.
They wasted no time getting back to their winning ways and now get No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday.
NO. 4 OKLAHOMA ST. 69 NO. 13 LIBERTY 60
Avery Anderson III scored 21 points, Cade Cunningham added 15 after a rough start and the Cowboys outlasted the Flames at Indianapolis.
Cunningham, the Big 12 Conference player of the year struggled for most his debut until his late surge gave OSU (21-8) breathing room against the stubborn Flames (23-6).
Anderson picked up the offensive slack for Oklahoma State, which faces Oregon State in the second round on Sunday.
NO. 9 WISCONSIN 85 NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 62
North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as the Badgers blew out the Tar Heels at West Lafayette, Ind.
Brad Davison scored 29 points for the Badgers (18-12), who negated North Carolina’s size advantage by draining 13 of 27 3pointers.
NO. 10 RUTGERS 60 NO. 7 CLEMSON 56
Geo Baker scored 13 points, including the decisive layup with 10 seconds left, and the Scarlet Knights 10th-seeded Rutgers beat No. 7 seed beat the Tigers for their first NCAA Tournament victory in 38 years.
Rutgers will face No. 2 seed Houston on Sunday.
NO.11 SYRACUSE 78 NO. 5 SAN DIEGO ST. 62
Buddy Boeheim hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 30 points, and the Orange cruised into the second round with a win over the Aztecs at Indianapolis.
NO. 5 VILLANOVA 73 NO. 12 WINTHROP 63
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a victory at Indianapolis. over 12th-seeded Winthrop in the South Region on Friday night.
The Wildcats will face North Texas in the second round on Sunday.
NO. 3 WEST VIRGINIA 84 NO. 14 MOREHEAD ST. 67
Miles McBride scored 18 of his 30 points after halftime to help the Mountaineers pull away at Indianapolis, giving coach Bob Huggins his 900th career victory.
The Mountaineers (19-9) advance to play Syracuse.