The first round of March Madness began on Friday with a stunning upset. In South Regional play, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, the number 15 seed, stunned the second seed Ohio State Buckeyes 75-72 in overtime. The Buckeyes entered the game as 15.5 point favorites, but got off to a horrible start, and even though they bounced back to force overtime, they lost in the extra period.
Kevin Obanor of Houston, TX led the Golden Eagles in scoring with the double double, as he had 30 points and 11 rebounds. The only other player who reached double digits in scoring for the Golden Eagles was Max Rabmas of Rockwall, TX, who had 29 points. Ohio State had the opportunity to win the game at the buzzer, but Duane Washington Jr.’s three-point attempt was unsuccessful.
This was the first win for Oral Roberts in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since 1974. In the first year the Golden Eagles qualified for the tournament, they defeated Syracuse 86-82 in overtime in the first round, and then Louisville 96-93 in the sweet sixteen. Oral Roberts then lost 93-90 to Kansas in the elite eight.
Oral Roberts was one of five double-digit seeds to win on Friday. The others were 13th ranked North Texas, 12th ranked Ohio State, 11th ranked Syracuse, and 10th ranked Rutgers. The North Texas Mean Green upset the fourth-ranked University of Purdue Boilermakers 78-69 in overtime. It was a dominant extra period for the Mean Green, as they outscored the Boilermakers 17-8 in the extra five minutes of action. It was also the very first NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament win in the history of the school.
Meanwhile, Oregon State upset Tennessee 70-56, Rutgers upset Clemson 60-56, and Syracuse beat San Diego State 78-62. In the Orangemen win over the Aztecs, Buddy Boeheim, the son of legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, led the team with 30 points.
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