Hield Erupts For 37, Leads Oklahoma To The Final Four
By Ryan Mayer
How do you stop Buddy Hield?
That's the question the Oregon Ducks and the rest of the college basketball world are still looking for the answer to after the Oklahoma star went off for 37 points in a 80-68 win for the Sooners that sent them to the Final Four in Houston. The Sooners will make their first appearance in the Final Four since 2002.
The night belonged to Hield as he got things going early with eight of the Sooners first 12 points including two three-pointers. The Ducks turned the ball over nine times in the first half, and the Sooners took full advantage. Most of the Sooners saw their shots falling in the first half as the team shot 51% from the field including 9-13 from beyond the arc. Oklahoma led 48-30 at the halftime break as Hield made sure to send them into the locker room on a high note.
He had 17 points in the half on 6-8 shooting from the field including 5-6 from downtown.
Oregon made a couple of separate runs in the second half to cut the lead down to 12, but every time it seemed that Oklahoma would respond with a quick spurt of their own to stretch the lead out to a more comfortable margin. The Ducks did force plenty of turnovers as both teams were a bit careless with the ball, with 27 total in the contest.
For the Sooners, the aforementioned Hield was the star, but Jordan Woodard and Isaiah Cousins bot continued their hot tournament play with 13 and 11 points respectively. The team shot an impressive 46% from the field and 50% from deep.
Oregon was led by senior forward Elgin Cook who finished with 24 points in his last game in a Ducks uniform. He was joined in double figures by forward Chris Boucher (14) and guard Tyler Dorsey (11).
Oklahoma now awaits the winner of #1 Kansas vs #2 Villanova in the South region of the bracket.
Ryan Mayer is an Associate Producer for CBS Local Sports. Ryan lives in NY but comes from Philly and life as a Philly sports fan has made him cynical. Anywhere sports are being discussed, that's where you'll find him.