An Evangelical university beat second-seeded Ohio State University Friday in the first round of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament.
Oral Roberts University beat the Buckeyes 75 to 72 marking the school’s first tournament win since 1974 and the tournament’s first big upset.
Junior Kevin Obanor led his team to victory with 30 points and 11 rebounds. After the game, he told Fox 23 he was eternally grateful for the win.
“I’m thankful to Jesus Christ for putting us in this position,” Obanor said. “We want it very bad. It’s bigger than us, just to leave a legacy behind for ORU. I’m just very eternally grateful and I just can’t wait to play tomorrow.”
It is a true David versus Goliath story as ESPN’s Men Tournament Challenge picked Ohio State over the Golden Eagles by 95%.
Head coach Paul Mills said that despite 14 million people voting that they would lose, belief and hard work pulled them through.
“We were super resilient and we were super tough down the stretch and I knew once we got into overtime we were going to win that thing,” Mills told his players. “From a together standpoint, from a belief standpoint (it) happened.”
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The team took to the floor after the win to pray and give thanks to God.
Oral Roberts University’s mission is to develop Holy Spirit-empowered leaders through whole person education to impact the world.
ORU alum Sean Feucht called the victory a real miracle.
“Prayer really works,” he wrote on Instagram. “There is no way a #15 team beats one of the most prestigious sports programs in America…BUT GOD!!!
On Sunday, the school will face seven-seeded Florida in the second round.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN
