March Madness is back and better than ever! After having the tourney cancelled last year due to COVID-19, the return of the tournament was a breath of fresh air. I was down in Indianapolis to watch a game live this weekend and seeing the crowds so excited to see the action was an event of normalcy that me and the rest of the country have been craving for so long. The tournament itself has not disappointed in terms of quality games. The first weekend had tons of exciting games and was filled with upsets. From the unexpected Cinderella stories of Oral Roberts and Abilene Christian to the second round upsets of Illinois and Iowa, no team was left unscathed. Here are the five best upsets that happened over the weekend.
Oregon over Iowa
Oregon had the unprecedented happen this past weekend, they advanced in an automatic bid in the first round due to VCU being disqualified for having positive Covid tests. This led to some questioning how Oregon would do against a powerhouse like Iowa since they hadn’t played a game. The fresh legs ended up giving them the upper hand though, as they pulled off a 15 point win in a high scoring game of 95-80. The Ducks dominated on offense throughout, with Chris Duarte and LJ Figueroa combining for 44 total points. The team shot well as a whole, shooting 55% from the field and 44% from behind the arc. Luka Garza put up 36 points for Iowa in a stellar performance in his own right, but it was not enough for them to outplay Oregon.
North Texas over Purdue
The North Texas Mean Green were able to shock the world and knock out the Boilermakers on Friday night, an upset that actually seems overlooked to me with all the other excitement this past weekend. North Texas had a very solid performance across the board, as they shot 47% and 43% from three. Javion Hamlet balled out for North Texas, putting up an impressive statline of 24/12/5 which led them to victory.
Abilene Christian over Texas
Another shocking upset was the Abilene Christian Wildcats knocking off the Texas Longhorns to get the first tournament win in school history. The game was a nail biter, and not pretty at times. The Wildcats shot an ugly 20 for 67 from the field, and only hit three shots total from behind the three point line. But, Abilene Christian’s defense is what helped them come out on top as they forced 23 turnovers from a Texas team clearly lacking ball security. Both teams played flawed basketball, but Abilene Christian’s on ball defense brought them on top with a 53-52 point victory.
Loyola-Chicago over Illinois
In the battle of the Illinois schools, the outcome of this Loyola-Illinois game was one very few predicted. Although the score was only 71-58, Loyola dominated the Illini from start to finish with exceptional defense and teamwork. The Illini did not live up to their top billing, as they were reckless with the ball committing 16 turnovers, along with scoring 23 points less than their average. Lockdown defense from Loyola guards Lucas Williamson and Keith Clemons held the Illini’s star Ayo Dosunmu to just nine points. Cameron Krutwig from Loyola also helped lead the way through a statline of 19 points and 12 rebounds, and also moved up his NBA draft stock in the process. Loyola hopes to repeat their success in 2018 this next weekend.
Oral Roberts over Ohio State and Florida
Oral Roberts has been the Cinderella story of the tournament so far. Led by the top scorer in D1 basketball, Max Abmas, Oral Roberts has done the unthinkable and knocked off Ohio State and Florida. Oral Roberts is the second 15 seed to reach the sweet sixteen, the only other team to do that was Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. They were able to knock off Ohio State after Duane Washington missed two free throws and an open three to tie the game, and came back from an 11 point deficit against Florida. This team is high scoring, and has two legitimate stars in Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor, who combined for 59 points against Ohio State and 54 points against Florida. They are a threat to Arkansas next weekend and whoever plays them if they advance.
What upsets do you think will happen in the sweet sixteen and elite eight? Let me know in the comments!