15 Seed Oral Roberts Upsets Ohio State & Florida, Advances To Sweet 16

The long-hyped March Madness is in full swing, and now we have one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far. The 15th-seeded Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles knocked out the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.

On Friday, the Golden Eagles and the Buckeyes met in the first round. Heading into this matchup, the Buckeyes were the favorites by a large margin. Fans were shocked when the Buckeyes were eliminated by the Golden Eagles’ duo of forward Kevin Obanor and guard Max Abmas. The duo finished the game with a combined 59 points to upset Ohio State in the first round.

Oral Roberts came out swinging and sent Ohio State an early message. Two minutes into the game, the Golden Eagles were up 7-0 after Abmas sank a three-pointer from half-court range.

Despite a slow start from the Buckeyes, the team was able to keep up as the game went on a back-and-forth run, with each team answering each other’s shots. The end of the first half saw the Golden Eagles leading 36-33.

For Oral Roberts, the duo of Obanor and Abmas carried the team in scoring. Obanor finished the game with 30 points and 11 rebounds, Abmas added 29 points and five rebounds to help their team overcome the favorites in the overtime victory. Interestingly, both players played all 45 minutes of the game.

On the other hand, E.J. Lindell of the Buckeyes led his team with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Lindell struggled near the end of the game due to fatigue. Lindell contributed with five turnovers in the game.

In overtime, it was Ambas who would score to keep his team alive.

The Buckeyes desperately attempted to tie the game in the final seconds as they trailed 75-72. Unfortunately for Ohio State, they were unable to convert or score as the final buzzer sounded. The Golden Eagles and fans were excited for the upset win because it was the team’s first tournament win since 1974.

In the second round, the Cinderella story continued as Oral Roberts defeated Florida. Oral Roberts advances to the Sweet 16 round to face Arkansas on Saturday.

Article by Allan Perez