Oral Roberts Shocks Florida to Become Second No. 15 Seed to Advance to Sweet 16

Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas combined for 54 points as Oral Roberts joins Florida Gulf Coast as the only No. 15 seeds to make it to the Sweet 16.

Two days after setting brackets on fire with its upset over No. 2 Ohio State, the Oral Roberts train just keeps on rolling.

The No. 15 seed Golden Eagles stunned seventh-seeded Florida in Sunday's second round, notching an 81-78 win over the Gators to become just the second No. 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the Sweet 16.

Similar to Thursday's stunner against the Buckeyes, Oral Roberts leaned on its dynamic duo of Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas to pick apart the Gators' defense. The pair combined for 54 points on 15-for-30 shooting. Obanor finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four steals while Abmas scored 26 with seven assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Obanor and Abmas combined for 59 points against Ohio State. For the tournament, the two have scored 113 of Oral Roberts's 156 points (72.4%).

Max Abmas (26 PTS) & Kevin Obanor (28 PTS & 11 REB) came up HUGE to send Oral Roberts to the #Sweet16 @ORUMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/oTahykWbTM

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2021

The game was a back-and-forth shootout for all 40 minutes. Florida led, 42-37, at halftime and extended its lead to 12 in the second half but couldn't put the game out of reach. Turnovers played a critical role in Oral Roberts's comeback, as the Gators coughed the ball up 20 times.

Oral Roberts took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by sophomore forward DeShang Weaver with just over two minutes remaining to make it 80-78. It was Weaver's only bucket of the night, and the Golden Eagles held Florida scoreless for the final 2:30 of the game.

The only other No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 was Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. The Eagles knocked off No. 2 Georgetown in the first round and No. 7 San Diego State in the second, as the team's "Dunk City" persona became a nationwide phenomenon.

It's not yet obvious what Oral Roberts's moniker will be, but for now, the Golden Eagles don't need to concern themselves with those details, as they've extended their stay in Indianapolis for at least another week.

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