Jump to content

Publicity (March Madness 2021)


ORUTerry

Recommended Posts

Heard Doug Gottlieb say on the radio broadcast this afternoon that ORU will have 2 of the best 3 players on the court.....that is high praise....problem is that the Hogs will probably suit up the next best 7.....but what the heck.....GO BLUE!   :tb-blue:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Article from SI with some quotes from Mills and Abmas after the game and what Mills said to earn the technical foul.
 

Sports Illustrated: Oral Roberts Comes Up Short, but Golden Eagles Prove They Belonged

Inches from an extraordinary win, Max Abmas and the Golden Eagles showed their worth in a nailbiter of a Sweet 16 loss against Arkansas.

It ended the way it had to end. It ended with the ball in the hands of Oral Roberts’ diminutive wisp of a bucket machine, Max Abmas, sprinting the ball upcourt in three urgent dribbles. The most dramatic moment of this tumultuous tournament was at hand, and the last play unfolded like a dream.

Arkansas was caught in Abmas’s slip stream, chasing, having failed to deny the nation’s leading scorer possession. Up two, the Razorbacks didn’t cover the inbounds pass, hearkening back to a fateful decision by Rick Pitino in Philadelphia 29 years ago. Abmas caught the pass on the run and started down the far sideline with Arkansas guard Davonte Davis alongside but leery of fouling, while Jalen Tate trailed the play. ORU’s 165-pound sophomore had daylight.

Given 3.1 seconds to get a good look at the shot of a lifetime, his internal clock was perfect. The orange light bordering the backboard illuminated with the ball halfway to the rim, signaling the finality of the moment. If the three-pointer dropped, the Golden Eagles become the first No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to reach a regional final. If the shot missed, third-seeded Arkansas prevails.

Up Abmas rose from 22 feet away, an undersized and under-recruited underdog trying to join the heroes of Marches past. He’s listed at 6’1”, but might be closer to 5’11”. Other than Oral Roberts, his scholarship offers were from the service academies. There was some Ivy League interest as well, but the power programs ignored the kid from Rockwall, Texas.

The shot arched through the taut air in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Everyone inhaled sharply, waiting for the ball to get to the goal and decide this tizzy of a game. Given the charmed nature of ORU’s run, having won four straight elimination games by a total of 11 points, you had to believe this was going in. “Great selection on the shot,” said ORU coach Paul Mills.

Thud.

The shot caught iron, not net. The dream ending died. An upset-ridden tournament was denied an all-time whopper. The Hogs escaped, 72–70, setting off a roaring celebration among a crowd that was overwhelmingly Arkansas fans. For the second straight game, they had endured an opponent’s missed shot in the final seconds to advance. (FULL STORY)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love this quote at the end of the article: “Inches from history, there was still glory gained in the effort.” It sums up how I feel about the game, and the season in general. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tulsa World: Bill Haisten: What a game and what a run for ORU, the NCAA Tournament’s most interesting team

spacer.png

As Jack Buck’s voice rings in my head (“I don’t believe what I just saw!”), Oral Roberts and Arkansas just provided 2½ hours of some of the more beautiful, dramatic basketball I’ve seen in a long time.

It was unbelievable that Oral Roberts would upset Ohio State and then Florida last week, and now I’m trying to process a 72-70 Razorback victory in Indianapolis.

ORU already had been historically successful in getting to the Sweet Sixteen level of the NCAA Tournament, and in Saturday’s Sweet Sixteen battle the Golden Eagles were agonizingly close to even more history.

If Max Abmas’ 3-point attempt had been good, ORU would have become the first 15 seed ever to punch a ticket to the Elite Eight.

What a game. The Razorbacks advanced to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1995. Davonte Davis is a big-time freshman for Arkansas, and it was his big-time, mid-range bucket with 3.1 seconds left that made the difference. (FULL STORY)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

not bad company for Max! That Curry guy might one day have a good career lol

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...