ANAHEIM, Calif. — Their best player is not exactly a secret. Everyone knows who Buddy Hield is and what he can do, seemingly at any time, basically from anywhere. What somehow gets lost in all the attention paid to Oklahoma’s shooting star — meaning the publicity, and from opponents the defensive intensity, and so much more — is this:
The Sooners are a whole lot more than a national player of the year.
Something close to No. 2 Oklahoma’s full potency was on display during a convincing 77-63 victory over No. 3 Texas A&M in Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Sure, Hield finished with 17 points. He hit some of those three-pointers that drop jaws. He shook free from very good defense on drives for shorter baskets. But on a night when Texas A&M determined to smother Hield, whatever it cost elsewhere — well, it cost the Aggies plenty.
“Everyone think they’re just a one-man show,” A&M senior guard Danuel House said. “They showed it wasn’t.”
BOX SCORE: Sooners 77, Aggies 63
Instead, Oklahoma put on a show. Four other Sooners reached double figures, led by junior guard Jordan Woodard’s 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The result was a performance that showed how good the Sooners can be — something like that stretch back in January, when they held the No. 1 ranking and gripped the attention of college basketball with regular shooting exhibitions.
The Sooners advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009. They’ll face No. 1 Oregon in a West Region final that has a chance to be a fabulous shootout, given the Ducks’ athletic versatility and the two teams’ freewheeling similarities. But If Thursday’s performance is an indication, the Sooners will be a very tough out.
“They’re the best team we’ve played,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “There’s no question in my mind. … They’re a team that I wouldn’t be surprised to win it all.”
Time and again this season, we’ve seen how Hield can erupt at any moment. In Oklahoma’s second-round victory over VCU, the senior guard scored 29 second-half points — and 19 of the Sooners’ last 22 — to stave off an upset. It was a next-level performance that showed why he’s traded national player of the year honors with Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine. But what we saw from the Sooners on Thursday was a much better gauge of their capabilities.
“Buddy, he’s gonna carry us,” Woodard said. “But when we take the pressure off him to not have to make as many plays — like he had to do last game — it’s greater for our team. We really have a great team. … We’ve got some great players from top to bottom.”
Like so many others before them, the Aggies determined to sell out to stop Hield. Senior guard Alex Caruso drew the coverage assignment for most of the game, and stuck very close — but he got plenty of help. It worked. Hield was only 6-of-13, and just 2-for-7 from three-point range.
“It was OK,” he said, but pointed immediately to a couple of missed layups, a two missed free throws, and a couple more three-pointers that went halfway down before bubbling up and out. But he also praised A&M’s defense — while noting that it opened up opportunities for his teammates, who took advantage.
Woodard hit 5-for-6 from three-point range. Freshman forward Christian James came off the bench to score 12 points, hitting 4-for-6, including a couple in key moments. With no defensive help coming from the guy guarding Hield, the Sooners either whipped the ball around the perimeter or drove and kicked for open shots, which led to easy baskets inside from forwards Khadeem Lattin and Ryan Spangler.
Even after the loss, Kennedy believed the Aggies’ strategy was correct.
“We had a hard time matching up with them,” he said. “You take Buddy away, it opens up driving lanes for Jordan and Isaiah (Cousins). And they got dunks and layups for their bigs, and it just throws your defense total you of whack.”
There’s more to the picture, too, than the offense. Oklahoma’s defense, which harassed A&M into 34% shooting, is typically overshadowed by Hield and the shooting show, too. But it operates at a high level. The Aggies struggled to get the ball consistently inside, where they had a size advantage. Oklahoma cut off driving lanes. That left the perimeter. But A&M’s not a great perimeter-shooting team; when the three-pointers weren’t falling (6-for-28), the combination was the recipe for a rout. Oklahoma led by as many as 20 and held a comfortable lead throughout most of the second half.
All of which means this: Pay attention to Hield, yeah. He’s tremendous fun to watch. But opponents can’t afford to focus exclusively on him. There’s a whole lot more to Oklahoma.
“They can take us for granted if they want,” James said. “Like tonight, they were focused on Buddy and our other players got off. So they’ve got to respect us all.”
James is one of the few guys on the floor who’s new to this thing, anyway. Seniors Hield, Cousins and Spangler and Woodard (a junior) have 103 consecutive starts together over the last three seasons. They have long lamented what they felt was a missed opportunity last year. A loss to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 drove them during the offseason.
Hield, who flirted with leaving for the NBA Draft, instead stayed, worked on improving his game – and morphed into a star and a lottery pick. And it’s why, when asked about getting to the Elite Eight, Hield shrugged.
“The Elite Eight is nothing right now,” he said. “We got here. But the Final Four is where we want to go.”
We saw Thursday why they might get there.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SWEET 16
