No. 15 Oral Roberts tops No. 2 Ohio State for NCAA Tournament's first big upset
It didn't take long for the NCAA Tournament to get turned upside-down, as just a few games into Friday's first-round action, we had a massive upset.
The shocker came courtesy of the 15-seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, who toppled the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 75-72 in overtime.
It marked just the ninth time in NCAA Tournament history that a No. 2 seed lost to a No. 15 seed in the first round. The first time was in 1991, when the Richmond Spiders beat Syracuse, and the most recent was in 2016, when Middle Tennessee knocked off Michigan State. Oddly, 15-over-2 happened twice in 2012, when 2-seeds Duke and Missouri both lost in the opening round.
The upset injected an extra dose of excitement into the tournament, which was canceled last spring after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a devastating blow for Ohio State fans, including FOX Sports Basketball Analyst Mark Titus, who played for the Buckeyes from 2006 to '10, as well as fellow Buckeye Clark Kellogg.
The loss hit the Big Ten hard. The conference boasts nine bids to the Big Dance, more than that of any other conference. But while rival Illinois, a No. 1 seed, breezed to a 78-49 victory over Drexel on Friday, the Buckeyes were not so fortunate.
It was, however, a huge boost for anyone who picked Oral Roberts, a private university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that has about 4,000 students. The Golden Eagles went just 16-10 during the regular season, playing their way into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Summit League tournament.
The Golden Eagles won Friday despite shooting just 35.7% from the field and 31.4% from 3-point range. They were led by 30 points from Kevin Obanor and 29 from Max Abmas, who combined to make 10 of Oral Roberts' 11 3-pointers.
Ohio State was led by the 23 points of E.J. Liddell. Duane Washington added 18 points but was just 7-for-21 from the field.
