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There is no shortage of Cinderella stories in this tournament. Heading into the Sweet 16, plenty of lower-ranked teams remain alive. Oral Roberts, Syracuse, Oregon State and Loyola Chicago have secured spots in the Sweet 16, despite having an eight or worse seed.
Oral Roberts Stuns Florida
Oral Roberts is going to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1974.
The Golden Eagles are the second 15th seed to reach the Sweet 16, joining Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.
Madness. pic.twitter.com/nMcc1wrwcH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2021
Upsets happen every year. the South’s 15th seed ORU is wrecking everyone’s bracket. First, they shocked everyone by taking down (2) Ohio State in a close 75-72 game. Fluke? Maybe not, based on their second-round match up with Florida.
ORU managed to take down (7) Florida 81-78 to secure a spot in the Sweet 16, where they will play Arkansas. Eliminating the Gators may not be as impressive as knocking off one of the tournament favorites like Ohio State, but it is the fact they put together another solid win.
Head Coach Paul Mills had this to say about his team’s performance.
Midwest has three Cinderella teams alive
(12) Oregon State took down (5) Texas and then defeated (4) Oklahoma State. Both wins came convincingly. However, to advance to the Elite Eight, they will have to take down another underdog.
Loyola Chicago was given the eighth seed, even though many believe they are better than that. This ranking set up an early must-see game. In the second round, they played (1) Illinois.
Loyola dominated on their way to a 71-58 victory. Loyola and Oregon State will play each other in the Sweet 16 round.
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Despite being handed the eighth seed, head coach Porter Moser is excited about what his team is capable of.
Meanwhile, Syracuse will have to pull off another upset to stay alive. The Orange barely escaped (3) West Virginia to get to the next round, where they will play (2) Houston.
If Syracuse pulls off another upset, it guarantees an eight seed, or worse, making it to the final four.
East and West Cinderella Teams trying to make Sweet 16
(10) Maryland sent Uconn home in round one in the east but has a touch matchup verse (2) Alabama.
Whoever wins that matchup will face either (11) UCLA or (14) Abeline Christian.
So far, March Madness has been full of surprises. At this point, fans should not be shocked when upsets keep coming.
