The first Cinderella of the 2021 NCAA tournament has his slipper stamped.
Oral Roberts, with his modest 16-10 record and 15th seed in the South Region, astonished No. 2 seeded Ohio State 75-72 during Friday’s overtime in West Lafayette, Indiana.
It was Oral Roberts’ first NCAA Tournament win since 1974 and their sixth consecutive win this season. They are the ninth No. 15 seed ever to beat a No. 2 seed.
The Golden Eagles’ shocker sends them to Sunday’s second-round game against Florida, which defeated Virginia Tech earlier in the day.
Oral Roberts was led by 30 points from Kevin Obanor, including 20 in the second half, and 11 rebounds. Max Abmas scored 29 points for the Golden Eagles.
Ohio State was led by EJ Liddell’s 23 points and 12 rebounds. Liddell sent the game to overtime with a 3 pointer just before the buzzer in the regulation. Duane Washington scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds.
Ohio State fell victim to a bad free throw, leaving only 9 of 18 in play.