By Jack Magruder, The Sports Xchange
March 26, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) moves in to score a basket against Oregon Ducks during the second half of the West regional final of the NCAA Tournament at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield tied a career high with eight 3-pointers on Saturday and his 26-footer just before halftime meant a little more.
“I looked straight at Kobe and he saluted me afterwards,” Hield said. “That was my favorite one.”
Hield made the first 3-pointer of the game and the last two while scoring 37 points in the Sooners’ lopsided 80-68 victory over the top-seeded Ducks in the NCAA West Regional final at the Honda Center.
Hield, the two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, made 8 of 13 3-pointers while helping the Sooners (29-7) advance to their fifth Final Four.
His long 3-pointer from the right wing with five seconds left in the half gave Oklahoma a 48-30 halftime lead and drew the recognition from Bryant, who was seated in the second row opposite the Oklahoma bench, ironically next to a man in an Oregon jersey.
“He’s a great player, and he was active,” said Oregon forward Elgin Cook, who scored 24 points and had the principal defensive assignment on Hield.
“He was moving around a lot. He made it tough on us. We tried to crowd him. Tried our best to corral him and keep him out of open areas, but he made a lot of tough shots.”
Hield, second among NCAA power five teams with a 25.1 scoring average entering the game, has 117 points in four NCAA Tournament games.
“Buddy just makes shots,” Okahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “He’s just unbelievable in getting the ball up on top of the rim. He shoots with great confidence. Doesn’t force many. That’s the thing that’s been most amazing on the year.”
No. 5 Oregon (31-7) had a 10-game winning streak broken. Ducks forward Chris Boucher scored 14 points.
Guard Jordan Woodard had 13 points and guard Isaiah Cousins had 11 points and seven assists for Oklahoma, and guard Christian Jamnes had a career-high 10 rebounds.
But the story was Hield. He made three 3-pointers and had 11 of the Sooners’ first 15 points for a quick 15-7 lead, and the Ducks never recovered. They were never closer than 13 points in the second half until the final minute.
“He hit some tough ones. He hit some deep ones,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “It was one of those games I miscalculated some things. I thought Elgin would be able to handle him a little bit better, but I don’t fault Elgin’s effort. He just hit some shots.”
Hield had his ninth 30-point game this season, and his 37 points tied forward Stacey King for the school NCAA tournament scoring record.
Forward Dillon Brooks, Oregon’s leading scorer at 17.0 points per game, had seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor before fouling out in the final two minutes.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski criticized Brooks as the two met in the receiving line after Brooks made a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the Ducks’ 82-68 victory on Thursday.
Oklahoma, which was averaging 10.4 3-pointers per game, was 12 of 24 from 3-point range. The Sooners have made 42.8 percent of their 3-point shots this season, which is on pace for a school record.
The Sooners had a 38-32 rebounding advantage and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. They had 11 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points in the first half.
“They just killed us on the boards,” Altman said. They were much quicker to the ball, much more active.”
NOTES: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski apologized to Oregon coach Dana Altman on Saturday for on-court remarks made to F Dillon Brooks after the Ducks’ 82-68 victory Thursday. Krzyzewski was heard to tell Brooks he is “too good of a player to be showing off at the end” after Brooks made a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds. “It is not my place to talk to another team’s player that way,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “In the postgame press conference, I reacted incorrectly to a reporter’s question about my comment to Dillon. I sincerely hope I did not cause a distraction for Coach Altman and his team.” … Oklahoma guards Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard and F Ryan Spangler have started all 104 Sooners games the last three years. Each has at least 1,000 career points. … Oregon is one of the five schools that has won a game in the last four NCAA tournaments. Kansas, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Wichita State are the others. … Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger hired Dana Altman as an assistant at Kansas State in 1986, Altman’s first Division I job. The Wildcats made the Elite Eight in 1988 and Altman succeeded Kruger at Kansas State when Kruger went to Florida in 1989. … Oregon and Oklahoma met in the 1939 NCAA West Regional final, with the Ducks winning 55-37 to advance to the national title game. … Oklahoma had b 1-3 against NCAA No. 1 tournament seeds previously, its only victory coming against Arizona in 1988.
