Houston went right to the top in its first Big 12 season.

A season removed from reaching the Final Four for a 13th time under Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, Duke not only is in the NCAA Tournament again, but appears to be peaking at the right time with first-year coach Jon Scheyer at the helm.

Purdue and Marquette were far from the favorites in their own conferences going into the season.

Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a 72-70 win over Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinals Saturday night. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, Oral Roberts stumbled with a series of turnovers and missed shots. “We gave him a pass option, we gave him a dribble option,” Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills said. Oral Roberts knew it had a chance to top it against the Razorbacks after playing them earlier in the season. Oral Roberts led by 10 at halftime in Fayetteville on Dec. 20 before Arkansas bullied the Golden Eagles in the second half for an 87-76 win.

The best COVID-19 vaccine shots in America just might be the two that went into Sister Jean’s arm. The breakout star and model for the most coveted bobblehead of the 2018 NCAA Tournament is now eight months beyond her 101st birthday and still serving as chaplain for the Loyola Chicago basketball team. 1 seed Illinois, is bound to provide a much stiffer test of Sister Jean’s faith. AdYet her celebratory fist bump at the buzzer was one of the signature moments of the first full day of an NCAA Tournament canceled a year ago due the pandemic. 8 North Carolina hardly qualified as an upset, unless you count Tar Heels coach Roy Williams’ first-ever loss in a tournament opener.

Oral Roberts players celebrate after beating Ohio State in a first-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Friday, March 19, 2021, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. – Oral Roberts welcomed the madness back to March. The 15th-seeded Golden Eagles pulled off the first major upset of the first NCAA Tournament in two years, holding off second-seeded Big Ten power Ohio State 75-72 in overtime on Friday. Oral Roberts scored the game’s first seven points, including a 3-pointer by Abmas from the logo that drew a collective “Ooooh” from the socially distanced crowd. He hit another 3 moments later to force an Ohio State timeout.