After the pandemic canceled last year’s NCAA tournament, players, coaches, and fans around the nation have a newfound appreciation for what the tournament brings. For those that have been waiting two years for this, the first weekend of the tournament has not disappointed.
We have seen the defending champions (Virginia) eliminated and have seen plenty of other upsets, and great basketball played. With so much excitement, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from the first weekend of basketball.
Illinois Is First Number One Seed To Fall
It was only a matter of time before one of the top-seeded teams in the NCAA tournament lost, but Illini fans were hoping it wouldn’t be them. On Sunday, the Illini failed to move onto the Sweet 16 as they were upset by the No. 8 seeded Loyola Ramblers, 71-58.
While Illinois did not play well, most of the credit for that goes to a smothering Loyola defense that limited Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu to just nine points. In fact, the only Illini that had much success was center Kofi Cockburn, who had 21 points, but even he struggled early on in the contest.
On the offensive side, center Cameron Krutwig dominated for Loyola as he not only scored 19 points, but he had 12 rebounds and five assists too.
There are certainly arguments to be made that Loyola was ranked too low as an eight seed, but head coach Porter Moser had his squad ready to play. Now, as Illinois packs to go home, the Ramblers will move onto the Sweet 16 in the Midwest region.
Now that they have made the Sweet 16, Loyola currently sits at +1600 to win the national championship.
VCU Knocked Out Of Tournament By COVID, Not Oregon
While the first round has offered big wins and upsets that have kept fans around the nation engaged, it sadly included a game being affected by COVID-19 as well.
The matchup between No. 10 VCU and No. 7 Oregon on Saturday had to be canceled due to positive tests on VCU. As a result, they were removed from the tournament, and Oregon received an automatic pass to the second round, where they will face No. 2 Iowa in the Western region.
VCU had a nice season going 19-7 and finishing second in the Atlantic 10. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as their season prematurely comes to an end without having the opportunity for a Cinderella story.
Oral Roberts Unlikely Path To Sweet 16
While there have been plenty of upsets throughout the first weekend of the tournament, no team has turned more heads than No. 15 Oral Roberts. It started with a major upset over No. 2 Ohio State in the opening round, and they followed that game with a win over No. 7 Florida on Sunday.
After a mediocre regular season where they finished fourth in the Summit conference, they made a run in the conference tournament and earned the automatic bid by winning it. On Friday, they beat Ohio State 75-72 and were led by forward Kevin Obanor (30 points, 11 rebounds) and guard Max Abmas (29 points).
On Sunday, it was once again a three-point win as they beat Florida 81-78. Obanor and Abmas combined for 54 points in that one.
Now, the Golden Eagles will move onto weekend number two to face No. 3 Arkansas on Saturday. Despite their two big upsets, they are still long-shots to win it all as they are +6500 to win the national championship.
