No. 15 Oral Roberts Rallies to Upset No. 7 Florida in NCAA Men’s Tournament |
AJ Mast/Associated Press
Cinderella is still dancing.
After stunning the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the 2021 men’s NCAA tournament, the 15th-seeded Oral Roberts Golden Eagles overcame a double-digit deficit and shocked the seventh-seeded Florida Gators 81-78 in Sunday’s second-round clash at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor led the way for the victors, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 1973-74 season.
A solid showing from Tre Mann was not enough for the Gators, who have not advanced past the second round since 2017.
Notable Player Stats
- Kevin Obanor, F, OR: 28 PTS, 11 REB, 4 STL
- Max Abmas, G, OR: 26 PTS, 7 AST, 2 STL, 2 REB
- Tre Mann, G, FL: 19 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST
- Noah Locke, G, FL: 17 PTS, 4 REB
- Colin Castleton, F, FL: 14 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLK
- Tyree Appleby, G, FL: 14 PTS, 5 AST, 3 STL
Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor Continue to Put on a Show
Oral Roberts already proved it is not your typical No. 15 seed with a victory over a Big Ten powerhouse, but one look at its offense confirms as much.
With Abmas and Obanor launching, the Golden Eagles finished tied for 10th in the country during the regular season at 81.8 points per game. The pair also had plenty of momentum coming into Sunday’s game after combining for 59 points in the win over the Buckeyes.
Abmas picked up right where he left off against the Gators and poured in 16 points in the first half alone by connecting on multiple triples and slashing through the lane whenever defenders pressed up on his outside shot.
He kept Oral Roberts within striking distance despite an impressive showing from Mann on the other end, which is all the Cinderella candidate could have asked for heading into the second half.
He needed some help, though, and Obanor found his scoring touch in the second half right as the Golden Eagles fell behind by double digits.
Obanor connected on a clutch four-point play to spark a run and took over in crunch time after his team fell behind six. He converted an and-1 to trim the lead to three, answered an and-1 on the other end with a three, put his team ahead with a jumper in the lane with less than three minutes remaining and drilled a clutch free throw with 17 seconds left to push the advantage to three.
The two-man game was enough against Ohio State, and it…
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