Buddy Hield. Hield has been unstoppable all season long and that hasn’t changed now that the stage has grown bigger and brighter. It’s Oklahoma. It’s probably the best player in the nation.
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With his competition’s season done, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield made a convincing argument while carrying the Sooners into the Sweet 16 with an 85-81 win over VCU on Sunday. Will Oklahoma get enough from its supporting cast?
The VCU flurry, however, also seemed to ignite Hield.
Although he’s the leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament, he’s just one reason the Sooners boast one of college basketball’s most explosive offenses. “Every time they needed a big basket, he answered the bell”. Otherwise, Duke will need to rely on a bench that plays just 21 percent of the time, the sixth lowest among Division-I teams. It’s going to take a full team effort. The No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds are all very much alive and well and will now be duking it out for West Region supremacy and a trip to Houston for a Final Four appearance.
Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA. Two double-digit seeded squads, Northern Iowa and Yale, won their first game, but neither squad escaped their second round match.
Hield would score points No. 28 and No. 29 on separate trips to the free throw line to make sure the Sooners weren’t the latest victim of an upset in the NCAA tournament. They allowed 68 points and were only up seven at half, although they managed to pull away by the score of 82-68.
“I don’t know if you shut Buddy down”. “They find me in good spots”. “You have to approach it in a unique way”.
The NCAA’s pod system keeps top seeds close to home.
But Hield kept hammering sending his team to Disneyland.
VCU guard Doug Brooks says he tried to get into Hield’s head, it’s safe to say it didn’t work. The OU vs VCU game details, start time and more is ahead. “And it’s not that easy to do, especially with the defense leaning on you and targeting you”. On the season, they’re just 12-19 against the spread with a 2-8 record in their past 10 games and 8-17 as the favorite. The balloting for those honors is expected to be among the tightest races in years between Hield and Michigan State senior Denzel Valentine. “Everybody’s watching, so just relishing these types of moments is special”.
OU’s opponent, Texas A&M, is ranked 11th of the 16 remaining teams, according to Hladik. “A lot of good teams aren’t playing today, and I told our guys that to appreciate the opportunity and not take anything for granted and enjoy it”.
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It took a miracle to do it, but the Aggies are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007 after outlasting Northern Iowa 92-88 in double overtime Sunday. Hield will have to come up with another masterful performance for Oklahoma with added help from his teammates such as Ryan Spangler.
