Then, with time winding down in the game, he sunk another 3-pointer with seven seconds left to give OR a 14-point lead rather than letting the shot clock expire. They didn’t play some No. 11 seed that lucked its way into the second weekend. With two teams that average a almost identical scoring output per game (81.3 for Oklahoma, 80.7 for Oregon), it seems clear that whichever one delivers a similar defensive performance on Saturday will be headed to Houston. That will trigger a very high TV share in Crete, Neb. and Silver Lake, Kan.
Advertisement
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman has ties to Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger. Altman was a 16-year success at Creighton, shrugging off regular job offers until Phil Knight made the call.
Being newcomers to this party, it’s possible that the Ducks don’t know all the rules.
First, the player-Grayson Allen-walked away from Oregon’s Dillon Brooks as Brooks went in for a postgame handshake/hug.
Allen, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer, got 12 of his 15 points in the second half, but Duke couldn’t make much progress in the second half. Owning five national championships probably affords the legendary Duke coach latitude to do as he pleases in that circumstance.
“Me and Coach K, that conversation should have stayed with us”, Brooks said.
But things got more interesting after that.
Plumlee, the Duke center, had two fouls in the first five minutes and wound up with six points and five rebounds. I gotta respect Duke. 357 from three-point range.
“We shared the ball really well”, he said. Can Duke-haters file this under yet another reason to ridicule the Blue Devils? Brandon Ingram looked like a top pick but also appeared to be the lone player on the Duke roster with the size and athleticism to compete with the Ducks. Basically, the thinking goes, he should have vanquished Duke with a level of enthusiasm more commonly found at a state dinner than athletic event. When asked what he said to Brooks after the game, Krzyzewski initially said he congratulated Brooks and told him he’s “a terrific player”. Brooks himself said he agreed with Krzyzewski – even though with the shot clock running down I think he every right to throw up a 3 in order to avoid a shot-clock violation. Usually it’s because they didn’t see you.
Oklahoma lost to North Carolina in the South Regional final in 2009. Instead, Brooks put up a three as the shot clock wound down. His angle wasn’t ideal, but it was hoist-and-hope time, and somehow he banked it in, for a 19-point halftime lead.
Hield had scored 27 and 36 points in the Sooners’ first- and second-round victories.
Advertisement
“It’s just a great feeling to be a story, (to make) history like that against Duke”, Brooks said.
