ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Oklahoma Sooners proved they can thrive quite nicely in the NCAA Tournament even if Buddy Hield isn’t going off. ADVERTISING ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Oklahoma Sooners proved they can thrive quite nicely in the NCAA Tournament
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Oklahoma Sooners proved they can thrive quite nicely in the NCAA Tournament even if Buddy Hield isn’t going off.
Because of that, the Sooners are one win away from returning to the Final Four for the first time in 14 seasons.
Jordan Woodard scored 22 points and Hield had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Sooners to a 77-63 romp over third-seeded and cold-shooting Texas A&M in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday.
It was a nice display of teamwork by the Sooners (28-7), who had five players in double figures as they advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009. They’ll play Saturday against the Duke-Oregon winner.
“That’s even better,” Hield said. “I’m able to have fun around there and watch my teammates make shots and make plays.”
Hield had scored 27 and 36 points in the Sooners’ first- and second-round victories.
“We shared the ball really well,” he said. “I’m real proud of the guys for stepping up and making shots. We were just taking advantage of opportunities. We tried to drive-and-kick and when they doubled somebody I tried to make the right pass.”
Oklahoma lost to North Carolina in the South Regional final in 2009. Oklahoma is trying to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2002, when it lost to Indiana in the national semifinals.
Tyler Davis scored 17 for A&M (28-9), which reached the Sweet 16 with a thrilling double-overtime victory against Northern Iowa after rallying from 12 points down in the final 44 seconds of regulation.
Kansas 79, Maryland 63
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Perry Ellis scored 27 points to match a season high, Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 and top-seeded Kansas topped No. 5 Maryland for a NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal victory Thursday night. The win put the Jayhawks back into the Elite 8 for the first time since 2012.
It took time for the Jayhawks (33-4) to get going, but once they finally seized the lead late in the first half everything else fell into place for their 17th straight victory. They emerged from the break to make their first six shots and steadily take control behind senior forward Ellis, who made 10 of 17 from the field.
Villanova 92, Miami 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins each scored 21 points, and No. 2 seed Villanova never trailed in routing third-seeded Miami Thursday night in the South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats (32-5) are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009, when they reached the Final Four. It’s their third trip to the regional final with coach Jay Wright. They turned in quite the offensive performance with former coach Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to the 1985 national championship, sitting nearby.
Villanova will play top-seeded Kansas on Saturday in the regional final.
Oregon 82, Duke 68
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Dillon Brooks scored 19 points and Oregon advanced to the brink of its first Final Four in 77 years with an 82-68 victory over defending national champion Duke on Thursday night in the West Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
Elgin Cook had 16 points and nine rebounds for the top-seeded Ducks (31-6), who will meet Oklahoma on Saturday. The second-seeded Sooners routed Texas A&M 77-63.
After a season-long rise in the Pacific Northwest, the Pac-12 champion Ducks emphatically arrived on the national stage with a strong second-half rally to beat the mighty Blue Devils (25-11) for the first time in school history.
Freshman Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, but Duke fell short of its third Elite Eight trip in five years. The Blue Devils lost five of their final 10 games.
