SOUTH REGIONAL
No. 15 Oral Roberts shocks Ohio State
Oral Roberts welcomed the madness back to March.
The 15th-seeded Golden Eagles pulled off the first major upset of the first NCAA tournament in two years, holding off second-seeded Big Ten power Ohio State 75-72 in overtime Friday.
Oral Roberts (17-10) got poised performances from its two star players, guard Max Abmas and forward Kevin Obanor, to become the ninth 15 seed to win a first-round game and the first since Middle Tennessee shocked Michigan State in 2016.
Obanor scored seven of Oral Roberts’ 11 points in overtime, including two free throws with 13 seconds left, and finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer, had 29 points.
“When they rank them, it was only just a number at the end of the day,” Obanor said. “We put our shoes on just as the other team puts their shoes on. We just had the mind-set of, ‘Show us that you deserve to be No. 2,’ and we came out with a lot of confidence.”
E.J. Liddell scored 23 points to lead the Buckeyes (21-10). Duane Washington Jr. scored 18 but made just seven of 21 shots.
Wisconsin 85, North Carolina 62:
North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA tournament game in 30 tries as the Badgers blew out his Tar Heels.
Brad Davison scored 29 points for the Badgers (18-12), who negated North Carolina’s size advantage by making 13 of 27 three-pointers. The Badgers (18-12) had lost four of five entering the tournament. Armando Bacot scored 15 points for North Carolina (18-11).
North Texas 78, Purdue 69 (OT):
Javion Hamlet scored 24 points and Thomas Bell had 16, along with some game-changing defense in overtime, to lift the 13thseeded Mean Green (18-9).
Seniors Hamlet and Bell led the Mean Green (18-9) to a regular-season Conference USA title last year but missed a chance at the tournament when the season was canceled by COVID-19.
Florida 75, Virginia Tech 70 (OT):
Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a step-back three-pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and the seventh-seeded Gators (15-9) held off the Hokies.
Nihiem Alleyne was brilliant for the Hokies (15-7) through regulation but was held to just one basket in overtime. He finished with 30 points and scored the final 12 of regulation for Virginia Tech.
Baylor 79, Hartford 55:
MaCio Teague scored 22 points and the top-seeded Bears shook off a slow start to roll over the Hawks.
Hartford (15-9) took a onepoint lead at the eight-minute timeout, but then it was all Baylor (23-2), which built its lead to 29 points.
Arkansas 85, Colgate 68:
Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Razorbacks shut down highscoring Colgate by scoring 34 points off 22 turnovers.
The 14th-seeded Raiders (14-2) had upset pickers out of their seats early with a slew of three-pointers and a 16-2 run to go up 14. The No. 3 Razorbacks (23-6) restored some bracket order with a 19-0 run spanning halftime and scored 10 straight points late to pull away.
Texas Tech 65, Utah State 53:
Mac McClung scored 16 points in his first career NCAA tournament game and Kyler Edwards added 12 to help the Red Raiders (18-10) end a two-game losing streak.
Neemias Queta had 11 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and tied Utah State’s single-game school record with seven blocks. Justin Bean had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Aggies (20-9).
Villanova 72, Winthrop 63:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the fifthseeded Wildcats (17-6) avoided the upset.
Winthrop (23-2), the Big South champion, led late in the first half, but the Eagles shot only 36.2% from the field.