
Oral Roberts became the ninth No. 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 seed when the Golden Eagles defeated Ohio State 75-72 in overtime Friday. The result marks Oral Roberts’ first NCAA Tournament win since 1974.
The Buckeyes had two good looks at 3-pointers in the final seconds, but neither one fell.
ORU was led by a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double for Kevin Obanor. The nation’s leading scorer, Max Abmas, tallied 29 points, including 5-of-10 from 3-point land.
The Summit League champions entered the game as a 16-point underdog, which marks the 8th largest upset since 1985, according to ESPN.
This game was one of three overtime games on the day. No. 13 North Texas prevailed 78-69 over No. 4 Purdue. The Mean Green outscored the Boilermakers 17-8 in the extra period. The victory marked North Texas’ first ever NCAA Tournament win. Javion Hamlet posted a double-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
In the first game of the day, No. 7 Florida defeated No. 10 Virginia Tech 75-70 in overtime. The Gators shot 57% from the field. Tre Mann drained a 3-pointer with just 23 seconds left in OT to put Florida up by 4.
In addition to Oral Roberts and North Texas, three other double-digit seeds pulled off upsets. No. 12 Oregon State topped No. 5 Tennessee 70-56 for its first NCAA Tournament win since 1982. Tenth-seeded Rutgers claimed its first win in the Big Dance since 1983. Playing in their first NCAA Tournament in 30 years, the Scarlet Knights beat No. 7 Clemson 60-56.
“Certainly for the first time being on this stage, I thought they were locked in, and we played with great swagger, ” RU head coach Steve Pikiell said, according to Daly Dose of Hoops.
Meanwhile, No. 11 Syracuse rolled past No. 6 San Diego State 78-62 behind 30 points from Buddy Boeheim. The Orange scored the final 18 points of the first half to take a 14-point edge into the locker room.
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins claimed his 900th victory as the third-seeded Mountaineers ran over 14-seed Morehead State. He is the sixth Division I coach to reach the plateau as he joins Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams and Bob Knight.
Williams, however, did not fair so well. His North Carolina Tar Heels, an 8-seed, fell to ninth-seeded Wisconsin 85-62. It marks the first time in his career that Williams fell in the round of 64.
Schools from the state of Texas went 4-0 on the day and improved to 5-0 in the tournament. In addition to North Texas, No. 1 Baylor rolled over No. 16 Hartford; No. 2 Houston dominated No. 15 Cleveland State; sixth-seeded Texas Tech topped 11-seed Utah State. Texas Southern beat Mount Saint Mary’s in the First Four on Thursday.
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