• 15-seed Oral Roberts stuns No. 2 Ohio State.
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 15thseeded Golden Eagles (17-10) pulled off the first major upset of the first NCAA Tournament in two years, holding off second-seeded Ohio State (21-10) 75-72 in overtime on Friday.
“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.”
Oral Roberts got poised, impeccable performances from its two stars, Obanor and guard Max Abmas, to become the ninth 15 seed to win a first-round game and the first since Middle Tennessee shocked Michigan State in 2016. Last year’s tournament was called off because of the pandemic.
Obanor scored seven of Oral Roberts’ 11 points in overtime, including two free throws with 13 seconds left. Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer, had 29 points.
“Their two players that obviously concerned us were terrific, so give them, their coaches, their players, their program, their university a lot of credit for this win,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “We had no illusions that this was going to be by any stretch anything other than a really challenging game, and it obviously was that from the very jump.”
Ohio State could have tied it in the closing seconds of overtime, but Duane Washington Jr.’s open 3pointer from straight away bounced off the side of the rim, and Oral Roberts celebrated its first tournament win since 1974.
The Golden Eagles’ roster is full of lightly recruited players who found their way to the small, private Christian school in Tulsa, Okla. The Summit League champions bowed their heads in a prayer circle after their victory over the Big Ten power.
“I know growing up, all my life, I was always like the underdog,” Obanor said. “The school is not a big school. Just to prove people wrong, it’s a blessing just to have people that are really committed and believe that we’re the better team.”
E.J. Liddell had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes. Washington had 18 points and 10 rebounds but made just 7 of 21 shots.
No. 1 Baylor 79, No. 16 Hartford 55: MaCio Teague scored 22 points and topseeded Baylor (23-2) shook off a slow-as-molasses start to roll past Hartford (15-9). Teague went 4 for 8 from 3point range, Davion Mitchell scored 12 points and the Bears did what 1s do to 16s — slowly overpowered them with waves of talent.
No. 3 Arkansas 85, No. 14 Colgate 68: Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Razorbacks (23-6) shut down high-scoring Colgate (14-2). Arkansas restored some bracket order with a 19-0 run spanning halftime and scored 10 straight points late to pull away.
No. 13 North Texas 78, No. 4 Purdue 69 (OT): 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 game-changing defense in overtime, to lift the Mean Green (18-9) to a win over the Boilermakers (17-10).
No. 5 Villanova 73, No. 12 Winthrop 63: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Wildcats (17-6) pulled away in the second half for a victory over Winthrop (23-2).
No. 6 Texas Tech 65, No. 11 Utah State 53: Mac McClung scored 16 points in his first NCAA Tournament game and Kyler Edwards added 12 to help the Red Raiders (18-10) pull away from Utah State (20-9).
No. 7 Florida 75, No. 10 Virginia Tech 70 (OT): Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a step-back 3pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and the Gators (15-9) held off Virginia Tech (15-7).
No. 9 Wisconsin 85, No. 8 North Carolina 62: Tar Heels coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as the Badgers (18-12) blew out North Carolina (18-11).