March Madness: Top 5 shocking moments of Round of 64 – So many upsets!

The First Round of 2021 March Madness was colored by many of the shocking upsets and results, from Oral Roberts on Friday to Ohio on Sunday. 

If you were looking for the maddest March Madness can be, the 2021 NCAA Tournament is exactly what you wanted to see. College basketball always gets wild this time of year with upsets galore but some years are more chaotic than others. And considering that we didn’t even get out of the First Round before there were no perfect brackets remaining out of the 20 million filled out on NCAA.com, this would certainly apply.

Given the unprecedented nature of this tournament and college basketball season as a whole, we probably should’ve figured that that calamity would unfold in March Madness. Still, it would’ve been hard to imagine this much insanity transpiring.

Now that we’re down to the Round of 32, though, we’ll see if the same trends continue. But before we get to the remaining 16 games of the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, we need to look back and appreciate the craziness fans witnessed in the First Round.

So with all due respect to UCLA going from the First Four to knocking off BYU handily, to Syracuse for routing San Diego State and to Wisconsin dismantling North Carolina in an 8-9 matchup, these were the most shocking March Madness moments from the First Round.

Most shocking moments of the First Round in 2021 March Madness

5. No. 14 Abilene Christian ends First Round by upsetting No. 3 Texas

Make no mistake, we’ll be talking more about this — but history was made in the First Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament as it was the first time that four teams seeded at No. 13 or lower won in the Round of 64. And it was the Abilene Christian Wildcats that made that history.

This game was absolutely bonkers. Texas couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn all night long but, in the waning moments, Andrew Jones knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Longhorns a 52-51 lead. On the opposite end of the floor, a sloppy, rushed possession led to a bad shot but then there was an offensive rebound and an iffy (at best) foul call that gave the Wildcats two free throws to pull ahead.

Of course, it was 58.8 percent free-throw shooter Joe Pleasant at the line. But when an NCAA Tournament game is on the line, Pleasant shot 100 percent to take the lead. Abilene Christian then stole the ensuing inbounds pass to secure the win, the program’s first in March Madness as they only joined Division I less than a decade ago.

4. North Texas wins first-ever NCAA Tournament game over Purdue in 3-14 matchup

There was always some trepidation when considering the possibility of the Purdue Boilermakers making a deep run into March Madness. Matt Painter’s team came into the tournament as one of the youngest rosters in the field of 68 and with the majority of his production coming from the freshmen. That’s a recipe for getting knocked off at some point and a fiery North Texas Mean Green team was up for that challenge.

Even though the game went to overtime, Purdue was playing catch-up all game long and that was evident in the extra five minutes when North Texas was able to pull away. Despite not having an NCAA Tournament win in program history, the Mean Green looked poised behind senior guard Javion Hamlet and his 24 points. They held off every comeback attempt and, as a result, the No. 13-seed is still dancing after the First Round.

3. No. 13 Ohio upsets defending champions in No. 4 Virginia

Due to the NCAA Tournament not being played last year, the Virginia Cavaliers came into March Madness in 2021 as the defending National Champions. Even after they were forced to withdraw from the ACC Tournament due to COVID protocols, there was still a chance that the grinding style of a Tony Bennett team was set up for success in the Big Dance.

Ohio had other plans.

This wasn’t a fluky comeback from the Bobcats either. Virginia committed only three turnovers in the game, Ohio shot only 30.4 percent from 3-point range and the Bobcats committed 10 turnovers of their own. Yet, Ohio never trailed by more than seven points as they controlled the glass with Ben Vander Plas filling up the net and Jason Preston nearly notching a triple-double. They looked not like a No. 13-seed but like a team of destiny unfazed by matching up with the defending champions.

2. Oregon advances past VCU in no contest matchup after positive COVID-19 tests

This was hardly an enjoyable moment and one that was much more disheartening but, if we’re talking about the shock value, VCU and Oregon never taking the court as the Rams had multiple positive COVID-19 tests in the 48 hours leading up to the First Round game has to be up there.

The 7-10 matchup was supposed to be the final game played on Saturday to wrap up the action before the Round of 32 but it never transpired. VCU had to be ruled the losers in a no contest as the strict protocols (and rightfully so) wouldn’t allow the Rams to play their game.

In truth, it’s tough to see multiple players not have the opportunity to live out the dream of playing in March Madness due to the virus. But that was always the reality of the pandemic and a possibility. Unfortunately, it cost the No. 10-seed Rams the chance at an upset and possible Cinderella run.

1. No. 15-seed Oral Roberts knocks off No. 2 Ohio State in overtime thriller

No other moment or game could be at the top of this list. Over 20 percent of brackets filled out had the Ohio State Buckeyes reaching the Final Four and that was far from a bad prediction. Chris Holtmann’s team stumbled late in the year but, at their best, they seemed to be able to compete with anyone. On Friday night, though, they couldn’t do that with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

If Oral Roberts becoming only the ninth No. 15-seed in March Madness history to upset a No. 2-seed isn’t good enough to shock you, the way in which the Summit League champs did so should be. It was a two-man show between Kevin Obanor and the NCAA’s leading scorer this season, Max Abmas, as they combined for 59 points and hit a combined 10 attempts from 3-point range. You’d think the Buckeyes would’ve had an answer for the mid-major stars but it was nowhere to be found.

Between the dominant duo for Oral Roberts being unstifled and Ohio State missing one good opportunity to take control after another down the stretch, this was a game that will live forever in NCAA Tournament lore.

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