Buddy Hield caps late barrage with 3-pointer to beat Texas
Thirty-six minutes into a rare night in which he looked mortal, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield finally rediscovered his shooting stroke.
The national player of the year favorite scored the Sooners’ final 12 points in their 63-60 victory over Texas including a go-ahead last-second 3-pointer.
With the score tied and the final seconds melting away, Hield lined up at the free throw line, cut hard to the left wing and received a pass with enough time left to drive or shoot. Hield jab stepped to get Texas guard Kendal Yancy back on his heels, took a sideways dribble toward the corner and then buried the go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Sooners a come-from-behind victory.
That Oklahoma was in a position to win at the buzzer was largely due to Hield’s surge over the previous three-plus minutes.
He had a huge 3-pointer to cut Texas’ lead to three with 3:20 to go. Then came a smooth driving layup and four straight free throws to put Oklahoma ahead by two. Texas star Isaiah Taylor answered with a pair of free throws with 57 seconds left, but Hield delivered the dagger two possessions later.
Hield finished with a game-high 27 points, all but six of which came after halftime. He was 3-for-14 shooting from the field before his late-game barrage began.
If Hield was already the national player of the year favorite entering Monday night, his clutch shooting surely only widened the gap.
The Oklahoma star is averaging 25.6 points per game, second only to Howard guard James Daniel’s 27.8. Hield is shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 51.1 percent from behind the arc and 90.2 percent from the foul line, making him not only the nation’s most explosive scorer but also one of the most efficient too.
Hield’s heroics were especially critical Monday night because third-ranked Oklahoma needed a victory badly to stay in strong position to win the Big 12 title. The Sooners were coming off a loss at Kansas State and they host Kansas in one of the marquee games of the season on Saturday.
Now Oklahoma will enter that game either tied for first with Kansas and West Virginia or a game in front of the Jayhawks and a game behind the Mountaineers. Kansas and West Virginia play one another Tuesday in Lawrence in the second of three huge Big 12 games this week.
Texas might have played its way into the Big 12 title picture had it won Monday night, but the Longhorns instead had their four-game winning streak snapped. They were undone by Hield’s finishing flourish, by 6-for-22 3-point shooting and by a disputed call that had coach Shaka Smart furious on the sideline.
On the possession before Hield’s game-winning 3-pointer, Taylor attacked the rim but was whistled for an offensive foul for pushing off with his off hand. Replays showed he did indeed use his hand to create space, but the Oklahoma player defending him also embellished the impact.
Regardless, the call went against Texas, setting the stage for Hield.
The last time Oklahoma needed a game-winning shot, Hield was a decoy for Isaiah Cousins against LSU nine days ago. This time Hield called for the ball, and lived up to the nickname Big Shot Buddy.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
