Buddy Hield leads No. 2 Oklahoma to 86-76 win over Kansas State

Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners reminded a sellout crowd at Lloyd Noble Center how good they are during an 86-76 victory against Kansas State on Saturday.

Hield had 31 points — one game after putting up 46 against Kansas — requiring a mere 14 shots to lead all scorers and further validate himself as a Player of the Year candidate. Hield and Oklahoma raced to a 21-point lead in a game the Sooners controlled from the start.

That combination may be enough for the No. 2 Sooners, 12-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, to retain their lofty ranking when the new polls are released Monday, despite suffering their first loss on Monday.

“They are a team that deserves to be ranked No. 1,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said.

Much less is known about the Wildcats, 10-5, 0-3. Though they have had their moments in all three of their conference games, including Saturday when they cut the deficit to as low as eight, but they lost all three.

After an encouraging 10-2 start, K-State will be in desperate need of a victory when it hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Of course, it would have taken an inspired effort with different result to avoid that outlook. Saturday’s loss could turn out to be K-State’s most difficult game of the season. Oklahoma made it hard from the beginning, with Hield scoring 17 points in the first 16 minutes and the Sooners firing on all cylinders behind him. They led 18-4 with 14:23 remaining in the first half.

“We spotted them 14,” Weber said, “and after that we competed with them and played with them, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. We had a few chances … But it didn’t happen.”

The game effectively ended when Hield hit a jumper with 4:34 remaining in the first half that put Oklahoma on top 42-21. Weber reluctantly used his third timeout in an attempt to break the Hield’s rhythm, as Weber had done twice already. That left the Wildcats trying to play catch-up with one timeout.

The strategy worked short term, and Hield quickly went to the bench for the remainder of the first half with two fouls. The Wildcats responded with a 14-2 run, including the final 12 points of the first half. Behind some timely jump shots from Stephen Hurt, Barry Brown and Justin Edwards, a game that once appeared out of hand was 44-35 at intermission.

K-State players never quit, continuing to push Oklahoma in the second half and never allowing the Sooners to pull far enough ahead for coach Lon Kruger to play his bench.

“That’s just not what we do,” said Brown after scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. “We believe we can win, even though we got into that 20-point hole. We fought back and gave ourselves a chance. We cut it down to single digits at half. We are not a quitting team. We feel like we can beat anybody, but in those clutch moments of the game we are not following through.”

Brown led the comeback push while defending Hield, and Dean Wade got hot in the second half and finished with 12 points. Stephen Hurt had 11 points and six rebounds, while D.J. Johnson added 10 points for K-State.

It simply wasn’t enough for the Wildcats.

“We struggle with scoring,” Weber said. “We have to get better at that. … I still believe we have enough offensive weapons. … We just have to play with more energy from the get-go, with a little determination. I told them to exert their will. Obviously, Oklahoma’s will was a lot stronger than ours.”

Oklahoma’s Jordan Woodard scored 19 points, and Ryan Spangler added 14. It also helped that Hield continued his unparalleled level of play.

“He is magical,” Weber said of Hield. “I sit there and pray for ours to go and for his not to. He is on a run. He is special.”

Kruger agreed. “It is hard to imagine anyone playing more efficientlythan what Buddy is, in terms of making shots and attacking and creating for his teammates,” said Kruger. “It’s just really impressive.”

Weber hoped Hield and Oklahoma would suffer a letdown after losing a hard-fought game at Kansas that lasted three overtimes on Monday.

Instead, he said the Sooners “came out with a vengeance” after the Wildcats improbably beat them twice last season.

Weber, like everyone else in the crowd of 11,113, was impressed by Oklahoma. He called it an improved team, capable of winning the national championship.

He was less certain about K-State. The Wildcats remain a work in progress.

No. 2 OKLAHOMA 86

KANSAS STATE 76

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .384, FT .706. Three-Point Goals: 8-26, .308 (Hurt 3-7, Brown 2-6, Ervin II 1-2, Stokes 1-3, Edwards 1-3, Wade 0-5). Blocked Shots: 2 (Johnson 2). Turnovers: 11 (Edwards 2, Johnson 2, Iwundu 2, Brown 2, Ervin II, Stokes). Steals: 11 (Edwards 5, Stokes 3, Brown 2, Iwundu). Technical Fouls: Bench.

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .565, FT .455. 3-Point Goals: 11-19, .579 (Hield 6-8, Woodard 3-5, Spangler 2-4, Cousins 0-1, James 0-1). Blocked Shots: 11 (Lattin 6, Hield 2, James, Spangler, Woodard). Turnovers: 20 (Hield 6, Spangler 5, Walker 3, Woodard 2, Buford, Cousins, James, Odomes). Steals: 9 (Cousins 5, Hield 2, Woodard, Walker). Technical Fouls: None.

Half: Oklahoma 44-35. Att: 11,113. Officials: Doug Sirmons, Rick Crawford, Lee Cassell.

AP-WF-01-09-16 2345GMT

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Buddy Hield leads No. 2 Oklahoma to 86-76 win over Kansas State."