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The Sooners and Cowboys were pretty bad this season in college basketball, but thank God we had Oral Roberts, if only for a hot minute.
The Golden Eagles lost a mere four games during the regular season. They faced off against Duke in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament as a +6.5 underdog only to be knocked out.
One of the Hottest Teams Entering the Tournament
Oral Roberts (30-4) was on a 17-game winning streak while managing to go 18-0 in the Summit League. Duke had to be terrified facing a No. 12 seed of this caliber, though in the end, the Blue Devils proved dominant with a 74-51 win. It was one of the most lopsided wins of the tournament Thursday.
Max Abmas helped take the Golden Eagles team to the Sweet 16 in 2021. This season, he scored 29 points against Ohio State, 26 against Florida and 25 in a 72-70 loss to third-seeded Arkansas.
Abmas led the team in scoring this season with 22.2 points per game and has buried 117 3-pointers.
"We got to experience what it was like to play at the highest level and to win games in the tournament," Abmas told Sports Illustrated. "We understand what it takes."
One ominous sign of things to come perhaps: Golden Eagles were 3-12 Against The Spread in their last 15 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Oral Roberts Basketball History
Though they enjoyed a bit of a hot streak between 2006 and 2008, Oral Roberts really only started to come into their own in 2021 and have made the Big Dance for a third straight year.
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1974
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1974, 2021
NCAA tournament round of 32
1974, 2021
NCAA tournament appearances
1974, 1984, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021, 2023
NCAA Tournament
Houston 1 5-1
Alabama 1 6-1
Kansas 1 9-1
Purdue 1 12-1
UCLA 2 12-1
Gonzaga 3 14-1
Arizona 2 18-1
Baylor 3 18-1
Marquette 2 18-1
Texas 2 18-1
Connecticut 4 22-1
Duke 5 22-1
Tennessee 4 25-1
Creighton 6 28-1
Kentucky 6 33-1
TCU 6 33-1
Miami Florida 5 40-1
Saint Marys CA 5 40-1
Texas A&M 7 40-1
Indiana 4 50-1
Kansas State 3 50-1
Virginia 4 50-1
Iowa 8 55-1
Xavier 3 55-1
Arkansas 8 66-1
Michigan State 7 66-1
Iowa State 6 75-1
Maryland 8 75-1
Memphis 8 90-1
San Diego State 5 90-1
Auburn 9 100-1
Illinois 9 100-1
West Virginia 9 100-1
Florida Atlantic 9 125-1
Providence 11 125-1
NC State 11 200-1
Northwestern 7 200-1
Penn State 10 200-1
USC 10 200-1
Arizona State 11 250-1
Utah State 10 250-1
Missouri 7 300-1
Pittsburgh 11 300-1
VCU 12 300-1
Drake 12 350-1
Oral Roberts 12 350-1
Iona 13 400-1
Boise State 10 500-1
Charleston 12 500-1
Colgate 15 500-1
Mississippi State 11 500-1
Nevada 11 500-1
Vermont 15 500-1
Furman 13 1000-1
Grand Canyon 14 1000-1
Howard 16 1000-1
Kennesaw State 14 1000-1
Kent State 13 1000-1
Louisiana 13 1000-1
Montana State 14 1000-1
Northern Kentucky 16 1000-1
Princeton 1000-1
SE Missouri St 16 1000-1
Texas A&M-CC 16 1000-1
Texas Southern 16 1000-1
UC Santa Barbara 14 1000-1
UNC Asheville 15 1000-1
Farleigh Dickson 16 1000-1
- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
