Only NIT-NCAA Joint Champ Dominates Most Unlikely Sweet 16 Ever

Most Shocking Sweet 16 Team Ever – Oral Roberts had just a 3.5% chance of beating Ohio State with less than two minutes to play. Against Florida, with under five minutes left, ORU’s win probability was only 6%, yet they pulled it off again. After their stunning Sweet 16 run, could the incredible duo of Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor take down one of the greatest champions ever in our Value Add Basketball Game? With the 15th Sweet 16 spot on the line, we rolled the dice.
https://www.pudnersports.com/2019/02/value-add-basketball-board-game-debuts.html

This matchup may have paired the best rebounding team in our game—the only team ever to win both the NCAA and NIT when both were considered equal championships, despite starting four sophomores—against perhaps the greatest Cinderella ever: 15-seed Oral Roberts, the worst rebounding team in our game, who didn’t rank in the Top 300 nationally in either offensive or defensive rebounding in 2021.

Oral Roberts is, in my opinion, the most shocking Sweet 16 team in history. Not only were they a 15-seed, but even after winning the Summit League tournament they still ranked only around 125th nationally. They then pulled off back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins despite having less than a 5% chance late in both games—thanks entirely to the unreal scoring of Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor, who combined to average nearly 57 points per game across the four must-win contests below:

Max Abmas	Kevin Obanor	Total Pts	Result
33	29	62	stunned South Dakota St. 90–88 (Summit Semi)
32	21	53	stunned North Dakota St. 75–72 (Summit Final)
29	30	59	as a 15-seed, 6% win chance late, stunned Ohio St. 75–72
26	28	54	<4% win chance last 2 minutes, stunned Florida 81–78

That résumé is why I believe they are the most surprising Sweet 16 team ever.

However… CCNY immediately showed why they may be one of the greatest champions ever in our Value Add Basketball Game universe. CCNY grabbed 10 of the first 11 rebounds, held Abmas and Obanor to just 17 and 9 points, dominated the glass 46–22, and cruised to an 80–45 win. If not for the point-shaving scandal the following year, it’s fair to wonder whether CCNY could have three-peated and been considered among the greatest teams of all time.

CCNY 1950 Box Summary

Pos	Player	Class	Pts	Notes
PG	Alvin Roth	SO	5	5 rebounds, 3 steals
SG	Floyd Layne	SO	6	7 rebounds, 3 steals
SF	Ed Warner	SO	8	11 rebounds
PF	Irwin Dambrot	SR	11	10 rebounds
C	Ed Roman	SO	27	6 rebounds
PG	Meyer Wittlin	SR	2	1 rebound
SG	Ronnie Nadell	JR	4	1 rebound
SF	Herb Cohen	SO	6	4 rebounds
PF	Joe Galiber	SR	6	1 rebound
C	Norman Mager	SR	5	1 rebound

ORU Team: outrebounded 46–22, lost 80–45

We’ll post updated score sheets below. CCNY’s win capped a dominant era in which New York teams won five of twelve national titles, with St. John’s and Long Island University each claiming two of the others.