Tyler Key

Upsets Galore

Tonight ended in dramatic and fitting fashion with #14 seeded Abilene Christian shocking the Texas Longhorns in a 53-52 upset, forcing them to commit 23 turnovers and holding them to their worst offensive performance all season. It was simply the cherry on top of the round of 64 this year. Just like many seasons, in 2021, there were nine double-digit seeds that upset higher seeds on their way to the round of 32. College basketball fans watched a #2 seed, a #3 seed, two #4 seeds, a #5 seed, two #6 seeds, and two #7 seeds all have their tournament runs ended very early. With these underdog stories, we also witnessed some of the best single-game performances of the tournament so far. This is your 2021 All-Upset Team for the round of 64!

Honorable Mentions (or All-Upset 2nd Team)

  • Javion Hamlet (G, North Texas) – 24 points on 7/18 shooting, 12 rebounds, 5 assists
  • Eric Ayala (G, Maryland) – 23 points on 8/14 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
  • Ethan Thompson (G, Oregon State) – 13 points on 5/12 shooting, 10 rebounds, 6 assists
  • Ben Vander Plas (F, Ohio) – 17 points on 7/15 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
  • Roman Silva (C, Oregon State) – 16 points on 8/8 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks

Starting Five

Max Abmas (G) – Oral Roberts Golden Eagles:

Many people knew going into Oral Roberts’ game against #2 seeded Ohio State that Abmas would be the key to pulling off an upset. Abmas was the leading scorer in the NCAA during the regular season at 24.4 points per game and did not disappoint in this contest. He ended up scoring the first field goal of the game and the last field goal of overtime for ORU, along with 8 other field goal between those two shots. The 6’1” guard finished the game with 29 points on 10/24 shooting and a very impressive 5/10 from deep. He also added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals as well as committing just one turnover all game. In a game that he played every single second for Oral Roberts, Abmas out-dueled Duane Washington and will now haunt Buckeye fans for years to come. 

Jason Preston (G) – Ohio Bobcats: 

Well this was not the game that basketball fans expected from Preston, but he certainly did not disappoint against #4 seeded Virginia. Preston, who led Ohio in the regular season in both points per game (16.6) and field goal attempts per game (12.8), only attempted 7 shots this game. He shot efficiently making 4 of them and finished with a respectable 11 points, but it was everything else that he did that landed him on this list. Preston, listed at 6’4”, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out 8 assists for a near triple-double. He got his teammates involved early and often, didn’t force the issue, and when the time came, Preston had two beautiful assists to Dwight Wilson III and Ben Roderick, both on back cuts to the rim and made two clutch free throws with 44 seconds left in the game. Jason Preston was the swiss army knife that ended Virginia’s title defense. 

Buddy Boeheim (G) – Syracuse Orange: 

Raise your hand if you also never thought Coach Boeheim’s son, Buddy, would be able to drop 30 points in back to back tournament games. After scoring 31 points in the ACC quarterfinal against Virginia, he replicated his performance against #6 seeded San Diego State and scored 30 points on a remarkable 11/15 shooting and insane 7/10 performance from deep. Buddy had never scored 30+ in any collegiate game and now has hit that mark in back to back games. When Syracuse and San Diego State entered halftime, the Aztecs had 18 total points and Buddy Boeheim had 16 points by himself. While he didn’t do much else on the stat sheet, only adding 4 rebounds, when you score 30 on 73.3% shooting and drain a three from the mid-court logo, no one minds. 

Johnny Juzang (G/F) – UCLA Bruins: 

Just hours before UCLA faced off against #6 seeded BYU, there were still questions about how the ankle sprain that Johnny Juzang suffered against Michigan State would affect his availability. Turns out, it wouldn’t bother him at all and he became just the third player in UCLA history to score 20+ points in his first two career tournament games, joining Lew Alcindor and Reggie Miller. He scored early and often, accounting for 8 of UCLAs first 12 points, ended the first half with 19 points, and ended the game with 27 points on 10/16 shooting. Juzang added 5 rebounds and a block along the way. He was also a strong defensive presence in the game, in which he was consistently matched up with players outsizing him. BYU never led in this game and Juzang was the biggest reason that the Bruins are marching on to the round of 32.

Kevin Obanor (F) – Oral Roberts Golden Eagles: 

We complete our All-Upset team with another Golden Eagle. Obanor and Abmas were the 1-2 punch that toppled #2 Ohio State and while Abmas is likely better known, Obanor was perhaps even more impressive in this game. Like Abmas, he played every second of the OT game, but also defended All-Big 10 First Team forward, EJ Liddell. On offense, Obanor actually led the Golden Eagles in points with 30 on 9/21 shooting and 5/12 from three. The 6’8” Junior also had 11 rebounds and most impressively went a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line, with two of those coming in OT with 13 seconds left to increase ORU’s lead from one to three. He scored 7 of the teams 11 overtime points and shined in the most pressure-filled moments of the game. Oral Roberts gets a matchup with the Florida Gators next.