Oral Roberts stages another upset victory

Oral Roberts pulled off a second consecutive upset to become just the second No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the round of 16 with an 81-78 victory over South Region No. 7 seed Florida on Sunday night.

The Golden Eagles opened the tournament with a stunning upset over No. 2 seed Ohio State,

Kevin Obanor scored 28 points and Max Abmas, the regular-season national leading scorer, finished with 26 as Oral Roberts (18-10) closed Sunday’s game on a 25-11 run to overcome an 11-point lead Florida held with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Oral Roberts joins Florida Gulf Coast (2013) as the only No. 15 seeds to reach the round of 16 in tournament history.

Oral Roberts took a 7776 lead — its first lead since late in the first half — on Obanor’s basket with less than 3 minutes remaining. Noah Locke answered for the Gators, but DeShang Weaver hit an open 3-pointer for an 80-78 lead with 2:08 remaining.

Florida had a chance but failed to get good shots on its final few possessions. The Gators had a pair of turnovers, Locke missed a corner 3-pointer and after Obanor split free throws, difficult 3-point attempts by Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis were off line.

Mann led the Gators (15-10) with 19 points, but failed to score over the final 17 minutes.

BAYLOR 76, WISCONSIN 63 » Davion Mitchell scored 16 points and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half, helping the top-seeded Bears (24-2) beat the No. 9-seeded Badgers (18-13).

Led by Mitchell’s nevergive-an-inch style, Baylor made Wisconsin’s seniorheavy lineup uncomfortable with its athleticism and all-out defensive effort.

The Badgers showed

a bit of fight after being backed into an 18-point corner, rallying to within seven midway through the second half behind D’Mitrik Trice (12 points).

The Bears reached the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under coach Scott Drew. ARKANSAS 68, TEXAS TECH 66» Justin Smith had 20 points and played a key role in a final-play defensive stop, helping the No. 3-seed Razorbacks (24-6) beat the sixth-seeded Red Raiders (18-11).

In the final seconds of a tense finish, Smith found himself defending Kyler Edwards beyond the 3-point arc. Edwards drove into the paint with Smith on his hip and missed a layup, with Arkansas guard JD Notae snagging the rebound

and sprinting up court to run out the clock. VILLANOVA 84, NORTH TEXAS 61 » Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 18 points, Jermaine Samuels Jr. had 15 and the fifthseeded Wildcats (18-6) hit 15 3-pointers to roll past the Mean Green (18-10) .

Villanova will play the second weekend of the tourney for the third time in the last five. Coach Jay Wright’s team won the whole thing the last two times it got this far in 2016 and ’18.

North Texas got off to a nice start, going up 21-13. Then Villanova tightened its defense and started making everything.

Villanova went 9 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the first 20 minutes on a 34-6 run.