Can Jesuit alum Max Abmas help Oral Roberts write another March Madness Cinderella story?

Jesuit alum Max Abmas and Oral Roberts danced their way into March Madness lore two years ago. The Golden Eagles entered the tournament as a No. 15 seed and beat second-seeded Ohio State and seventh-seeded Florida before falling by two to Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

They played the role of Cinderella. Now Abmas and Oral Roberts have the rare chance to do it again.

Oral Roberts, led by Abmas’ 22.2 points per game average, went 30-4 this season and won the Summit League Conference Championship, leading to an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles earned a No. 12 seed and will play No. 5 Duke in the opening round of the East Regional on Thursday.

Duke is a 6½ point favorite against Oral Roberts, according to Fan Duel. That’s a familiar position in March for the Golden Eagles, who were a 16-point underdog vs. Ohio State two years ago before they pulled the upset and won in the opening round of the tournament.

Abmas starred in that game. He scored 29 points and had three assists in a 75-72 overtime win over the Buckeyes.

The other player who starred for Oral Roberts in that game was Kevin Obanor. He scored 30 points against Ohio State. Obanor then had 28 points in a win over Florida the next round, before adding a double-double in a close loss against Arkansas.

Abmas scored 26 points over Florida and 25 against Arkansas.

On the brightest stage, Abmas and Obanor excelled. It led to a massive increase in the recruiting stock for both. Obanor eventually entered the transfer portal and landed at Texas Tech, where he helped the Red Raiders make a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago. Abmas decided to stay, though he had interest elsewhere.

“We’ve got DMs,” Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills told Sports Illustrated, explaining the communicated interest Abmas had from other schools, despite not ever entering the transfer portal. “He’s screenshotted [his] DMs. We’re not naive.”

Abmas had his reasons for staying though.

“I think the end goal is, is not just to get all this NIL [name, image and likeness] money, the end goal for me is to play professionally in the NBA for as long as I can play,” Abmas told Sports Illustrated. “Just understanding that, and understanding that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side, and understanding what I had here at Oral Roberts [and the] relationship that I’ve built over the last few years.”

Abmas, a co-district Player of the Year his senior year, was a two-star recruit coming out of Jesuit. He had reported offers from Air Force, Marist and Army in addition to Oral Roberts. Not many believed in him, but Oral Roberts did.

Now Abmas is a star for the Golden Eagles, with the chance to play a starring role as Cinderella for the second time in a college career. We’ll find out Thursday if the glass slipper still fits two years later.

On Twitter: @JoeJHoyt

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