OHIO — The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men’s basketball team stunned the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the ninth No. 15 seed to ever beat a No. 2 seed.
The shocking 75-72 overtime upset is Ohio State’s first loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament since the 2008-09 season to the Siena Saints. This is the Golden Eagles’ first “Big Dance” since 1974.
The game was a nail-biter all the way through. Both teams had their mishaps. The Buckeyes turned over the ball 16 times, while the Golden Eagles slacked on rebounds. Combined, the two teams shot a little below 40% from the field.
At halftime, the Golden Eagles led with a narrow lead of 36-33. For a short moment right before the end of the fourth quarter, Ohio State took the lead 63-60, but that didn’t last long.
Just before the quarter ended, the Golden Eagles came back and tied the game 64-64, sending the game into overtime.
As the clock wound down to the final seconds, fouls were called left and right. At one point, Ohio State came close to taking the lead, trailing the Golden Eagles by just two points. But after a few missed fouls shots and failed attempts at three-pointers on the Buckeye’s end in the last three seconds, the Golden Eagles had secured the win.
The big scorers for Oral Roberts had been Kevin Obanor, racking up a total of 30 points. Max Abmas came second with 29 points.
For the Buckeyes, EJ Liddell had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Duane Washington scored 18 points.
Oral Roberts will take on the No. 7 Florida Gators in the second round on Sunday, who also knocked off their opponent, No. 10 Virginia Tech, in thrilling overtime fashion Friday.
Ohio State closes out the season 21-10, and 12-8 in the Big Ten.
