Here are some of the top moments from the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 19 (all times Eastern):___5:25 p.m.Oral Roberts has pulled off the first upset of the NCAA Tournament with a 75-72 overtime win over second-seeded Ohio State in the South Region.It’s the school’s first NCAA win since 1974.Kevin Obanor had 30 points, one more than teammate Max Abmas for the high-scoring Golden Eagles.EJ Liddell had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Duane Washington had 18 points and 10 boards for the Buckeyes.___5:00 p.m.There’s been a sister sighting for Loyola Chicago’s first-round game against Georgia Tech.Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ 101-year-old team chaplain, was rolled into the fieldhouse in her wheelchair bundled up in a yellow-and-red scarf and wearing a mask that read Loyola shortly before the opening tip Friday night.Sister Jean became an icon during Loyola's Final Four run in 2018, but she hadn’t attended a game in person since the pandemic began. She recently was vaccinated but has continued to keep her distance from the team, delivering the pregame prayer virtually all season and again prior to the Ramblers’ game against the Yellow Jackets.___4:55 p.m.UCLA and Michigan State was the most-watched First Four game since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, according to CBS and Turner Sports.The networks said the Bruins overtime victory against Michigan State averaged 3 million viewers and peaked at 3.3 million from 11 p.m.-11:15 p.m. EDT, based on data from Nielsen.Overall, the four games played Thursday and televised on TBS and truTV drew 7.6 million viewers across all platforms, including streaming.Viewership was up 36% from 2019′s First Four, according to the networks. The entire First Four was played on one day for the first time in this tournament. Usually, two of the games are played on Tuesday and the other two on Wednesday when the tournament is in a normal schedule.___2:10 p.m.Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.Most of players on 16th-seeded Drexel knelt for the anthem before the Dragons played Illinois at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, and several Colgate players did the same before the they played third-seeded Arkansas at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.A few players also took a knee during the anthem before Florida-Virginia Tech at Hinkle Fieldhouse.College athletes have not been shy about showing public support for social causes and even pushing back against perceived inequities by the NCAA. Earlier this week, several prominent men’s players got the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty trending to protest NCAA rules that ban athletes from earning money off their names, images and likenesses.At the women’s tournament in San Antonio, players have pointed out how workout facilities have been far from equal to what has been provided to the men’s players.___1:50 p.m.Virginia has finally arrived in Indianapolis, the 68th and final team to do so.The Cavaliers remained in Charlottesville after a positive COVID-19 test caused them to pull out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament before a semifinal game against Georgia Tech last Thursday.The Cavaliers have been testing daily since and were to practice at home in the morning for the first time since they paused team activities and then travel to the site of this year’s tournament. Their arrival puts them two sets of negative tests away from facing Ohio on Saturday night.Virginia is technically still the reigning national champion because it won the title in 2019 and last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. ___12:40 p.m.The first game of the first round between No. 7 seed Florida and 10th-seeded Virginia Tech is underway at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and a cloudless day outside has brought a significant amount of natural light into the arena.Hinkle Fieldhouse has windows circling the concourse level of the arena and shades have been pulled down at the south end to try and help keep the sun out of the players' eyes. But windows at the top of the arched-roof building are still allowing in sunlight.It's the first time Hinkle has hosted NCAA Tournament games since 1940. Related video above: Surge in sports betting expected with March Madness
Here are some of the top moments from the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 19 (all times Eastern):
___
5:25 p.m.
Oral Roberts has pulled off the first upset of the NCAA Tournament with a 75-72 overtime win over second-seeded Ohio State in the South Region.
It’s the school’s first NCAA win since 1974.
Kevin Obanor had 30 points, one more than teammate Max Abmas for the high-scoring Golden Eagles.
EJ Liddell had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Duane Washington had 18 points and 10 boards for the Buckeyes.
___
5:00 p.m.
There’s been a sister sighting for Loyola Chicago’s first-round game against Georgia Tech.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ 101-year-old team chaplain, was rolled into the fieldhouse in her wheelchair bundled up in a yellow-and-red scarf and wearing a mask that read Loyola shortly before the opening tip Friday night.
Sister Jean became an icon during Loyola's Final Four run in 2018, but she hadn’t attended a game in person since the pandemic began. She recently was vaccinated but has continued to keep her distance from the team, delivering the pregame prayer virtually all season and again prior to the Ramblers’ game against the Yellow Jackets.
___
4:55 p.m.
UCLA and Michigan State was the most-watched First Four game since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, according to CBS and Turner Sports.
The networks said the Bruins overtime victory against Michigan State averaged 3 million viewers and peaked at 3.3 million from 11 p.m.-11:15 p.m. EDT, based on data from Nielsen.
Overall, the four games played Thursday and televised on TBS and truTV drew 7.6 million viewers across all platforms, including streaming.
Viewership was up 36% from 2019′s First Four, according to the networks. The entire First Four was played on one day for the first time in this tournament. Usually, two of the games are played on Tuesday and the other two on Wednesday when the tournament is in a normal schedule.
___
2:10 p.m.
Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.
Most of players on 16th-seeded Drexel knelt for the anthem before the Dragons played Illinois at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, and several Colgate players did the same before the they played third-seeded Arkansas at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
A few players also took a knee during the anthem before Florida-Virginia Tech at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
College athletes have not been shy about showing public support for social causes and even pushing back against perceived inequities by the NCAA. Earlier this week, several prominent men’s players got the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty trending to protest NCAA rules that ban athletes from earning money off their names, images and likenesses.
At the women’s tournament in San Antonio, players have pointed out how workout facilities have been far from equal to what has been provided to the men’s players.
___
1:50 p.m.
Virginia has finally arrived in Indianapolis, the 68th and final team to do so.
The Cavaliers remained in Charlottesville after a positive COVID-19 test caused them to pull out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament before a semifinal game against Georgia Tech last Thursday.
The Cavaliers have been testing daily since and were to practice at home in the morning for the first time since they paused team activities and then travel to the site of this year’s tournament. Their arrival puts them two sets of negative tests away from facing Ohio on Saturday night.
Virginia is technically still the reigning national champion because it won the title in 2019 and last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
___
12:40 p.m.
The first game of the first round between No. 7 seed Florida and 10th-seeded Virginia Tech is underway at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and a cloudless day outside has brought a significant amount of natural light into the arena.
Hinkle Fieldhouse has windows circling the concourse level of the arena and shades have been pulled down at the south end to try and help keep the sun out of the players' eyes. But windows at the top of the arched-roof building are still allowing in sunlight.
It's the first time Hinkle has hosted NCAA Tournament games since 1940.
Related video above: Surge in sports betting expected with March Madness
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