Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodward did most of the heavy lifting for Lon Kruger’s team, combining for 39 points, but it may have been the collective effort of the Sooners on the glass that sealed the deal.
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Oklahoma advanced to the Elite Eight on Saturday, where the Sooners will face either No. 1 OR or No. 4 Duke.
The Sooners advanced in 1993, 1947 and 2002, the last time led by guard Hollis Price, who played in four straight NCAA tournaments…. OU was in a dogfight with Cal State-Bakersfield longer than it needed to be (it was a 65-60 game with 7:00 to play).
Heidl still wound up with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Sooners piled 23 assists on 32 baskets, always an indicator of snappy ball movement.
For real though, how did we get here?
“I’ll be proud no matter what”, said Jacob Clanton. We were just taking advantage of opportunities. When we watch the Elite 8 live streaming or on TV today, the competition difficulty will increase once again for OU as they take on the Ducks in the West finale. Top overall seed Kansas and second-seeded Villanova play in the South regional final at Louisville, Kentucky. If Ryan Spangler finds himself unable to match the physicality and athleticism OR brings to the table, Oklahoma would not only lose the battle on the boards, they’d likely dig themselves a hole from which there would be no return. But the Aggies never threatened anything close to the insane rally they’d gotten in the second round against Northern Iowa – when trailing by 12, they outscored the Panthers 14-2 in the final 31 seconds. The Sooners outscored the Aggies, 13-2, off turnovers.
Woodard dropped 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting with five assists to lead the way for the Sooners as the Aggies sold out to stop Hield at the expense of other players.
“They didn’t panic”, he said. “They made us pay for our missed shots, they hit 3s, we weren’t knocking down our free throws, they never let you get comfortable in the post”. It seemed nearly certain that the Sooners were headed to their first Elite 8 since 2009.
“It’s a sad moment right now, because we didn’t go out the way we wanted to, ” said Aggies guard Jalen Jones, who had an off night with 11 points, 3-of-11 from the field and just 2-of-7 from the line.
Woodard made five of six 3-pointers. Hield wasn’t as effective as normal from behind the arc, making just two of seven.
“I’m just glad I came back”, he said, “and showed my teammates and [helped] achieve the success to [get close] to the Final Four”.
Notre Dame will have their hands full with reigning National runner-up in seven-seed Wisconsin (22-12), who are riding a wave of momentum after defeating two-seed Xavier with buzzer beating three pointer by Bronson Koenig. Elgin Cook finishes his Oregon Ducks career with 24 points. It’s tough that they lost, but we’re on a mission.
A senior-dominated Sooners team reached the regional semifinals last season, losing to Michigan State.
Tune in for Saturday’s OR vs Oklahoma game on CBS Sports that will determine the first of the Final Four teams.
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Texas A&M was making its first Sweet 16 appearance and was not accustomed to this kind of playoff pressure.
