Upset-minded: Four teams seeded No. 13 or lower advance to Round of 32 in men's tourney

BasketballNews.com Staff
Mar 21 2021

There's a reason it's called March Madness.

Aside from the unfortunate elimination of VCU due to an instance of a positive COVID test outbreak among the team, the first two days of the Men's NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis has felt somewhat normal with the level of play and the energy in the environment. You've heard the crowds reacting to pivotal plays, and momentum is taking hold in the majority of these back-and-forth affairs.

While the powerhouse schools are mostly doing their part, perhaps nothing is more exciting than the amount of low-seeded schools pulling off upsets. For the first time in NCAA Tournament history, there are four teams seeded No. 13 or lower advancing to the field of 32.

Our first colossal surprise was the No. 15 seed Oral Roberts defeating No. 2 Ohio State, behind a masterful combination of the nation's leading scorer, Max Abmas, and the toughness of Kevin Obanor. Later that night, we saw Javion Hamlet take over for No. 13 North Texas down the stretch in the fourth and overtime to send No. 4 Purdue packing. Mind you, these were two Big Ten darlings coming into the tournament.

On Saturday night, it was the No. 13 seed Ohio Bobcats knocking off the defending champions, No. 4 seed Virginia, courtesy of the all-around game of Jason Preston and the sharpshooting of Ben Vander Plas. Just hours afterward in a battle of in-state universities, No. 14 Abilene Christian locked down on the defensive end and used every bit of heart with Joe Pleasant leading the way to stun No. 3 Texas.

It was mid-major madness in the first two days of the men's tourney, but there were a number of double-digit seeds in power fives to advance as well -- including Maryland, UCLA, Oregon State, Rutgers and Syracuse.

Round two is just underway. Let's see what else awaits us!