Four days after staging the biggest last-minute comeback in NCAA Division I history, the third-seeded Aggies were blown out 77-63 by Jordan Woodard, Buddy Hield and the rest of the second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the Sweet 16. Texas A&M added to its misery by making only six of 28 3-pointers and just 13 of 24 free throws.
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Hield scored a team high 21 points and grabbed six rebounds while Nairn finished with just one assist in 11 minutes.
They endured the entirety of a second half in which their team never trailed by fewer than 11 points.
Hield’s 17 points were 14 below his average in this NCAA Tournament.
Four players are averaging at least 8.1 points for Texas A&M, they are: Danuel House (15.8), Jalen Jones (15.4), Tyler Davis (11.1) and Alex Caruso (8.1).
And fight Texas A&M did, but the Aggies never solved the Buddy conundrum.
A finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year and a likely National Basketball Association draft lottery pick, Hield scored 29 of his 36 points in the game’s second half as the Sooners withstood a spirited VCU rally.
Tonight’s Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas A&M Aggies 2016 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game rekindles a former Big 12 rivalry with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line. The win advanced the Sooners to Saturday’s West Region final against the victor of Thursday’s late game between Duke and Oregon.
But what if the Aggies had been more diligent in working the ball inside in the first half? Both teams have the ability to make runs, but Oklahoma has the more explosive offense, and the best player on the floor.
“That’s even better”, Hield said.
It was one of the main talking points entering this Sweet 16 game, how the Aggies might respond from pulling off such a momentous feat. Buddy Hield and Oklahoma will be looking to take advantage if Texas A&M has that emotional “letdown” in the first half of this one.
The reality is that Oklahoma is a good team, a complete team.
The Aggies toppled Green Bay, 92-65, on March 18 and followed it up with a thrilling 92-88 overtime victory over UNI on Sunday to advance this far.
Sooners Head Coach Lon Kruger said, “I think that really motivated them especially for the workouts in Spring summer and fall I don’t know if it effects this game tomorrow that much but heard them talk a lot about how disappointing that was how they have to work harder how they have to practice better when you lose in the tournament it stings and when you lose a little bit later in the tournament it hurts even more”.
A once-conference rivalry now features in the NCAA Tournament. “He could go for 40”, A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. So we just made plays and driving and kicking them.
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Oklahoma got past Cal State Bakersfield by 14 points in its first game and then edged VCU by four points in the round of 32 to punch its ticket to the regional semifinal. “It’s our job to go execute it. So as a team, we’ve just got to stay locked in”.”AK’s an important part for this team, and as you see from the first game, he really helped us (with) his presence in the paint and how he blocks shots and rebounds for us”. “They came out prepared and ready to go, and the shots that we usually make weren’t falling”. Isaiah Cousins only scored two points, but he had eight assists as the Sooners recorded a season-high mark with 23.
