Seven. He ended with 36 points. It was a lack of depth that cost them in the ACC Tournament, when the Blue Devils watched a 16-point second-half lead evaporate against Notre Dame, dropping the quarterfinal game in overtime. Lattin has delivered three blocks in the tournament and his 14 points during that span has been the most points he has produced in a two-game span since early February. The Sooners broke through quickly and knew exactly where to go with the ball: forward to Hield, whose wide-open 3-pointer made it a 59-48 Oklahoma lead.
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In the first week of the NCAA Tournament, only five other players have scored 29 point – in a game.
It was clear they were going to move onto the Sweet 16 and get their crack at Buddy Hield and Oklahoma.
Buddy Hield put on a performance in the second half of Sunday’s second round matchup between the West region’s second seeded Oklahoma Sooners and tenth seed VCU Rams that showed the nation why many believe he will be crowned the honor of national player of the year.
Cal State Bakersfield guard Dedrick Basile (5) goes up for a shot between Oklahoma forward Ryan Spangler, left, and guard Jordan Woodard (10) during the second half of a first-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 18, 2016, in Oklahoma City. With every mini-run the Rams made, Hield answered with a clutch 3. It was Hield’s 13th 30-plus-point game of the season, which tied Michael Beasley for most in Big 12 history. Hield is a rare player who can completely take over a game and that kind of talent can be a decisive advantage at this level of play.
It’s Buddy’s will. It’s Buddy’s time.
So after being held below 80 points for 11 games in a row, Oklahoma has hit the mark its last two times out.
Buddy went on a personal 8-0 run with his team down one with eight to play snuffing out an impressive VCU rally.
Oklahoma has won two straight against Texas A&M, SU and ATS, after falling in six of the teams’ previous seven meetings, and is 3-1 SU in its past four Sweet 16 contests, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database. “He’s long and rangy in there, and any time a guy’s going to the paint, they’ve at least got Khadeem on their mind a little bit”, Kruger said after the VCU win.
The second half saw the Rams wake up but also saw Hield wake open.
“It was special, but I couldn’t do it all without my teammates”, Hield said. Like Hield, House can score in a variety of ways, but is more reliable the closer he gets to the rim.
Getting to the second weekend didn’t happen by accident and most teams that advanced got a significant boost from an individual player.
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Redemption will have to come against A&M, a team that has victories over three Big 12 schools that made the NCAA Tournament (Texas, Baylor, Iowa State), as well a triumph over Kansas State, on its season ledger. The senior shoots 55 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. “So watching that film from a year ago, it hurts to see the things that we could have done to win the game”.
