Oral Roberts shocks No. 2 seed Ohio State in NCAA Tournament

(AP) — Oral Roberts 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 on Friday.

The Golden Eagles got poised, impeccable performances from their 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. 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, and finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer, had 29 points.

Ohio State could have tied it in the closing seconds of overtime, but Duane Washington Jr.’s open 3-pointer from straight away bounced off the side of the rim, and Oral Roberts celebrated its first tournament win since 1974.

The Golden Eagles (17-10) advanced to play seventh-seeded Florida in the South Region on Sunday.

E.J. Liddell scored 23 points to lead the Buckeyes (2110). Washington scored 18 but made just 7 of 21 shots. FLORIDA 75, VIRGINIA TECH 70 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a stepback 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and seventh-seeded Florida held off No. 10 seed Virginia Tech.

Florida was cheered on by Keyontae Johnson, who has supported and inspired his teammates from the bench since his return from a scary medical episode. Johnson collapsed on the court during a game in December and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.

Castleton was dominant on the inside and Mann showed up with a pair of key 3-pointers late for the Gators (15-9).

Mann hit a 3 with 2:49 left in regulation, a shot that became huge as Virginia Tech rallied in the closing seconds and forced overtime on Nahiem Alleyne’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. Mann’s second big 3-pointer gave the Gators a 74-70 lead and proved enough after Cordell Pemsel’s missed jumper with 10 seconds left.

Mann, an all-sec performer, finished with 14 points. Scottie Lewis added 15 for the Gators.

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

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Macio Teague scored 22 points and top-seeded Baylor shook off a slow-as-molasses start to roll past 16th-seeded Hartford.

Baylor opened its March Madness run at the same stadium the Final Four will take place in during the first week of April. The Bears (23-2) will next face ninth-seeded Wisconsin.

Teague went 4 for 8 from 3-point range, Davion Mitchell scored 12 points and the Bears did what 1s do to 16s — slowly overpowered them with waves of talent.

Austin Williams scored 19 points to lead the Hawks (15-9).

WISCONSIN 85, NORTH CAROLINA 62

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels.

Brad Davison scored 29 points for the Badgers, who negated North Carolina’s size advantage by draining 13 of 27 3-pointers. The Badgers (18-12) had lost four of five entering the tournament.

Davison made 5 of 7 3-pointers and 10 of 15 shots overall. D’mitrik Trice scored 21 points for Wisconsin.

Although Williams had won all 14 of his first-round games with Kansas and his first 15 with UNC, the loss by this uneven Tar Heels team was hardly a shock. North Carolina came in on a three-game winning streak but did not win four in a row all season.

Armando Bacot scored 15 points for UNC (18-11). NORTH TEXAS 78, PURDUE 69

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jason Hamlet scored 24 points and Thomas Bell had 16, along with some game-changing defense in overtime, to lift 13th-seeded North Texas past No. 4 seed Purdue.

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.

They made sure things kept going this time. North Texas will face either Villanova or Winthrop in the second round.

Bell opened overtime with a 3, then altered two Purdue shots underneath to help the Mean Green turn the extra session into a laugh. North Texas scored the first 11 points.

Freshman Jaden Ivey finished with a career-high 26 points to almost single-handedly keep the Boilermakers (18-10) in the game.

ARKANSAS 85, COLGATE 68

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Justin Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Arkansas shut down high-scoring Colgate.

The 14th-seeded Raiders (14-2) had upset pickers out of their seats early with a slew of 3-pointers and a 16-2 run to go up by 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. Arkansas advanced to face sixth-seeded Texas Tech in the second round.

Arkansas’ defense became the deciding factor.

More scores: TEXAS TECH 65, UTAH STATE 53 ILLINOIS 78, DREXEL 49 LOYOLA CHICAGO 71, GEORGIA TECH 60 OREGON STATE 70, TENNESSEE 56 OKLAHOMA STATE 69, LIBERTY 60 HOUSTON 87, CLEVELAND STATE 56