The madness begins
Top, Zed Key (23) and Duane Washington Jr. leave the court after secondseeded Ohio State’s overtime loss to 15thseeded Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Above, North Texas players exult after the 13thseeded Mean Green’s win over No. 4 seed Purdue. Right, Pac12 tournament champion Oregon State’s Ethan Thompson goes up for a shot during the 12thseeded Beavers’ win over fifthseeded Tennessee. In all, the lower seed won six of the 16 games played. For a complete wrapup of Friday’s tournament games, turn to
Oral Roberts welcomed the madness back to March.
The 15thseeded Golden Eagles surprised secondseeded Ohio State 7572 in overtime on Friday in an NCAA Tournament South Regional game in West Lafayette, Ind.
Oral Roberts got poised, impeccable performances from its two top players, guard Max Abmas and forward Kevin Obanor, to become the ninth No. 15 seed to win a firstround game and the first since Middle Tennessee shocked Michigan State in 2016.
Obanor scored seven of Oral Roberts’ 11 points in overtime, including two on free throws with 13 seconds left, and finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer, had 29 points.
After their first NCAA Tournament win since 1974, the Golden Eagles (1710) will play Florida on Sunday.
E.J. Liddell scored 23 points to lead the Buckeyes (2110). .
SOUTH REGIONAL
Florida 75, Virginia Tech 70: 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 seventhseeded Gators (15-9) beat the 10thseeded Hokies (15-7) in Indianapolis.
Arkansas 85, Colgate 68: In Indianapolis, Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds and the third-seeded Razorbacks (23-6) beat the 14thseeded Raiders (14-2). Arkansas used a 17-0 run to take the lead at halftime and scored 10 straight points late to pull away. The Razorbacks will face Texas Tech on Sunday.
Texas Tech 65, Utah State 53: Mac McClung scored 16 points and Kyler Edwards added 12 to help the sixthseeded Red Raiders (18-10) top the 11th-seeded Aggies (20-9) in Bloomington, Ind.
Baylor 79, Hartford 55: In Indianapolis, MaCio Teague scored 22 points and the top-seeded Bears (23-2) overpowered the 16th-seeded Hawks (15-9). Baylor will face Wisconsin in the second round Sunday.
Wisconsin 85, North Carolina 62: In West Lafayette, Brad Davison scored 29 points and the ninth-seeded Badgers (18-12) pounded the eighthseeded Tar Heels (18-11). It was the first loss for UNC head coach Roy Williams in 30 first-round games.
North Texas 78, Purdue 69: Javion Hamlet scored 24 points, four during his team’s 11-0 run to begin overtime, as the 13th-seeded Mean Green (18-9) beat the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (18-10) in Indianapolis. North Texas will play Villanova in the second round Sunday.
Villanova 73, Winthrop 63: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Wildcats (17-6) against the 12th-seeded Eagles (23-2) in Indianapolis.
MIDWEST REGIONAL Oregon State 70, Tennessee 56:
Roman Silva scored 16 points and the 12th-seeded Beavers (18-12) beat the fifth-seeded Volunteers (18-9) in Indianapolis. Oregon State advances to face Oklahoma State on Sunday. “We really have come together as a team and you saw it on display,” OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle said. Oklahoma State 69, Liberty 60: Avery Anderson III scored 21 points and Cade Cunningham added 15 for the fourth-seeded Cowboys (21-8) against the 13th-seeded Flames (23-6) in Indianapolis.
Illinois 78, Drexel 49: Kofi Cockburn scored 18 points and Ayo Dosunmu had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Illini (23-6), a No. 1 seed, cruised past the 16th-seeded Dragons (12-8) in Indianapolis. Illinois will face Loyola (Chicago) in the second round Sunday.
Loyola (Chicago) 71, Georgia Tech 60: Lucas Williamson scored 21 points as the eighth-seeded Ramblers (25-4) topped the ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets (17-9) in Indianapolis. Georgia Tech played without ACC player of the year Moses Wright after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Houston 87, Cleveland State 56: In Bloomington, Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and the second-seeded Cougars (25-3) beat the No. 15 seed Vikings (19-9). It was win No. 664 for Kelvin Sampson, tying him with John Wooden for 38th on the NCAA’s all-time list. Houston will face Rutgers on Sunday.
Rutgers 60, Clemson 56: The
10th-seeded Scarlet Knights (16-11) held the seventh-seeded Tigers (16-8) to one point over the final 4:12 to win in Indianapolis, their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1983.
Syracuse 78, San Diego State 62: Buddy Boeheim scored 30 points to lead the 11th-seeded Orange (17-9) past the sixth-seeded Aztecs (23-5) in Indianapolis. Syracuse will play West Virginia on Sunday.
West Virginia 84, Morehead State 67: Miles McBride scored 30 points as the third-seeded Mountaineers (19-9) beat the Eagles (23-8) in Indianapolis for head coach Bob Huggins’ 900th career win.
Briefly: Marquette fired head coach Steve Wojciechowski after seven seasons in which he posted no NCAA Tournament victories .. ... Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich, 64, who missed the past season after taking a medical leave, will shift jobs and become a special adviser to the athletic director.