It seems like nearly everything about college basketball has changed in the past two years. NCAA tournament games were played in near-empty arenas as a precaution because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright were still coaching. More than 3,000 players have entered the transfer portal over that span, while name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have taken over roster management and recruiting.

But at Oral Roberts, things are remarkably similar. The Golden Eagles were the darlings of March back in 2021, going on a run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed behind the heroics of undersized point guard Max Abmas, who scored 29 points in the first round against Ohio State and 26 against Florida. Now, Abmas is leading the charge again as Oral Roberts gears up for another shot at March glory.

After falling short of the suddenly lofty expectations in 2022, coach Paul Mills and a returning core that features two assistant coaches, three starters and five total players from that ’21 team set out to turn things around and bring the Golden Eagles back to March prominence. The result? A team that’s even better than the Sweet 16 team of two years ago. Winners of 17 straight and 27 of their past 28 games, Abmas and the Golden Eagles won’t be sneaking up on anyone this time, but have built perhaps the nation’s best mid-major team thanks to continuity, star power and a key assist from college basketball’s tallest player.