Kansas, Oklahoma looking ahead to rematch after 3OT thriller

The respect for both sides shined through in an interview Buddy Hield gave with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter following the game.

He would have rather had a win. He scored in every way possible, pouring in the most points by an Oklahoma player since the 1990-91 season, the most against a top-5 team in the last 20 years for an Oklahoma player, and the most ever by an opponent in Lawrence. Still, if you want to get a jump start on who to pick come your March Madness brackets, now is a good time to hop on board. You were texting your friends, you were checking reaction on Twitter, you were waking up your wife with various, flabbergasted expletives (just me?) and isn’t that what sports is all about? In the end, the Jayhawks beat the Sooners, 109-106, cementing their status as the top team in the country right now.

The Jayhawks are not only my (and many others) vote for the best team in the NCAA, but they also are one of the most exciting teams as well, as they are averaging 89.8 points per game thus far this season. “It was just terrific”. “You can use that as fuel to go out there and play your heart out the next game”. The Sooners rallied from 11 down at one point to take a 4 point lead into halftime behind a 12-0 burst.

It was a fitting conclusion for the first No. 1 vs. 2 matchup in two years, and the first pitting teams from the same conference since Ohio State and Michigan State of the Big Ten met on February 25, 2007.

Woodard’s final 3-pointer gave the Sooners a 106-104 lead, and they still led 106-105 when Hield was stripped by Frank Mason with 17 seconds left. After the turnover, Woodard fouled out and Kansas retook the lead and never relinquished it. There were, of course, controversial calls, techs, big shots, missed free throws, made free throws and sublime individual play. His 46 points matched Wayman Tisdale for the sixth-highest-scoring game in school history. “We actually did a really good job holding him to 46”, said Kansas coach Bill Self, who sicced all three of his starting guards – Mason, Devonté Graham and Wayne Selden – on Hield before settling on Mason in the second half. But after Mason drove the lane with six seconds left and missed the shot, Kansas forward Landen Lucas was called for a foul on the rebound. And then he’ll envision the inbound pass with 8.6 seconds left in the third OT that he couldn’t slink past Frank Mason III, arms and legs splayed about, so close to the sideline Hield could smell his breath if he cared to. Eight players scored in double figures, 10 posted offensive ratings above 100 and the teams combined to shoot 49.1% from three.

The Sooners then extended the lead to 10 early in the second half, bridging the two halves with a 28-7 run. They hit a couple of huge buckets and, thanks to a missed Oklahoma free throw, were able to force overtime as the teams were locked at 77 when regulation ended. But Mason was whistled for his third foul with 6:04 left in regulation and his fourth foul with 22 seconds left in regulation.

This strategy seemed even more sound considering that Oklahoma shoots 45% from 3-point range on the season. Kansas ultimately prevailed, 109-106, in a clean, crisp and beautifully played game that included just 30 total turnovers and 44 fouls in 55 minutes.

Jaime Nared scored 13 points and Mercedes Russell added 11 points and seven rebounds for Tennessee (10-3). The Sooners don’t have that depth and were outscored 22-5 by Jayhawks reserves, who shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Julian Wright, a Kansas sophomore, scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds blocked two shots against Texas.