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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 2021 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams

By Adam Childs

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: Kareem Thompson #2 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles celebrates with teammates after defeating the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Oral Roberts defeated Florida 81-78. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: Kareem Thompson #2 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles celebrates with teammates after defeating the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Oral Roberts defeated Florida 81-78. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Moses Moody Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Moses Moody Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

12. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

It would make sense to rank the only 15th seed left as the worst team, but this Golden Eagles team seems different. They have the nation’s leading scorer in Max Abmas leading the way and Kevin Obanor helping him out. Add in being one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the country and you have a team that can compete.

Their win over Ohio State is less fluky than you think and they should grit by coming back to beat Florida. They get their second straight SEC opponent in the Sweet 16 and you know they will believe they can win.

They have a more complete team right now than the teams above them and have shouldn’t be taken lightly. No 15 seed has ever made it to the elite eight but the Golden Eagles look like they have a great shot at doing just that.

11. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks struggled in the first half against Colgate and probably shouldn’t have beat Texas Tech, but they did and here they are. Arkansas doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but they are extremely athletic and can score in transition.

The problem for them is winning a game that is played in the half-court. They did it against Texas Tech, but it did not look pretty. Oral Roberts will look to do the same thing, but they are better than Colgate and that should give some pause to the Razorback faithful.

But they are definitely more athletic, bigger, and have more speed so they are a spot up of the Golden Eagles. Their game though could go either way and it wouldn’t be a surprise.

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