After the first five minutes of the Phillip's 66 Big 12 Championships semi-final game featuring Oklahoma and Iowa State, it seemed as if Chavanno "Buddy" Hield and his Oklahoma Sooners were going to cruise to their first conference finals appearance under Head Coach Lon Kruger. However, a late rally in the second half by the Cyclones and a blown point-blank lay-up with time expiring dashed away Oklahoma's shot at history. Hield, a Grand Bahama native, finished Friday's game with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, but it came in a 67-65 loss to Iowa State. It was his fourth double-double this season.
With 9.7 seconds left in the game, the Sooners inbounded the ball under Iowa State's basket. Oklahoma guard Jordan Woodard dribbled the length of the floor and made it to the painted area, but met a double team on his way to the rim. Woodard, under pressure, was able to find Ryan Spangler cutting to the rim with just seconds left,
however the junior forward failed to convert the lay-up. Hield gathered the rebound but couldnt' get a shot off before time expired.
"Feel bad for Ryan for what he's going through right now, but we've got to find a way to pick him back up," Hield said. "We got to go into the NCAA Tournament, and we've got to make a big run and stick together no matter what. Win, lose or draw, we've got to stick together as a group."
The Sooners jumped out to a 21-10 lead after the first six minutes of action and extended it to 27-19 before the Cyclones put together a 10-2 run heading into half-time.
Iowa State converted on back-to-back three pointers, and a lay-up, to take their first lead, before Hield's free throws tied the game at 29. Iowa State pushed ahead 50-42 midway through the second half, but the Sooners answered with a surge of their own. Hield finished off a 10-2 run that tied things up at 58 with just over eight minutes left. From there, it was a fight to the finish.
In the game, the Sooners struggled to get points off the bench for the second game in a row. They were outscored 17-2 by the Cyclones reserves on Friday and failed to score in the quarter-final game against Oklahoma State on Thursday. Hield struggled to find his touch from long distance as he finished just 2-for-13 from behind the three-point line.
The Cyclones went on to knock off the Kansas Jayhawks 70-66 to win the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. Both teams will now look forward to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament which gets underway Tuesday. A strong performance in the tournament could boost Hield's draft stock and lock him in as a high first-round pick, if he chooses to leave Oklahoma and enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft this summer. He could also opt to come back for his senior season.
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