Great stuff in the game thread ... Kinda to be talking basketball this early in the year. I, for one, approve.
It was over when: Buddy Hield's potential game tying three bounced off the backboard, ending an instant-classic Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas the victor 109-106 in triple overtime.
Was it the best game I've ever witnessed? Yes, yes it was. Oklahoma sports information director Mike Houck, who previously served as the team's color commentator -- and has seen plenty of OU hoops over the last decade and half would agree, as well.
Buddy went B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Ya know those games where everyone has a story. The kind in which the performance is so grand you start your story with, 'I remember when ...'. This was that kind of performance from the kid they call 'Buddy Love'.
Hield finished with a career-high 46 points, sending a message to the rest of the college basketball.
You're going to have to do better than Hield to win this year's Naismith Player of the Year. And it's going to be damn hard to do so after a career-performance in front of a national audience.
https://twitter.com/clubtrillion/status/684245705213382656
Let's take a closer look at Hield's performance, setting career-highs in:
Points (46)
Minutes (54)
FGs (13)
3s (8)
FTs (12)
- most by any visiting player in Lawrence
- most pts by player vs. No.1 in 20 seasons
- 6th highest scoring game in OU history
- 13 FGs is most makes a player in a conference game against Kansas since Kevin Durant in 2007
- 8 3s is most against Kansas since 2009
Perhaps more impressive - and mostly unnoticed- was Hield's 7 assists on the night, tying a career-high.
Short story: While in college I was lucky enough to travel and cover Oklahoma basketball's run through the 2008-09 season with the student media.
After traveling to Kansas City, our travels took us to Memphis and a Sweet 16 date with Syracuse. North Carolina- who would defeat Oklahoma in the Elite Eight- played prior to the Oklahoma-Syracuse game.
In between games, I marveled as North Carolina fans stayed around FedEx Forum to watch Blake Griffin go through warm-ups. Ridiculous dunk after ridiculous dunk the Tar Heel faithful erupted with applause. Impressed to say the least.
That night I realized how special it was to watch Griffin in person on a regular basis. I knew he was special, but I didn't realize he was that special. It was somewhat of a newfound respect for Griffin who I had watched grown up around the OKC-area.
Following Monday night's loss at The Phog, Hield somewhat solidified himself in his own right. Love 'em or hate 'em Kansas basketball fans are passionate, much like those North Carolina fans that applauded Griffin's efforts. Real recognize real in the basketball world.
I'd let Jordan Woodard get something out of my eye ... Jordan Woodard finished the night with 27 points, one point shy of his career-high. You could make the argument there's not another player on the team that you would rather handle the ball.
Woodard tied a career-high with six makes from behind the arc, none bigger than the final one putting Oklahoma up two with 1:01 to play, but fouled out with :43 seconds left in the game.
Woodard dished 7 assists on the night, driving and finding Khadeem Lattin for numerous rim rattlers throughout the night.
Poor Khadeem ... I've taken a liking to Khadeem Lattin. From the first time we spoke two years ago at media day, he seems to be a genuially good, hardworking kid.
https://twitter.com/khadeemlattin/status/684269213393944576
Make even one free throw, and with less than 3 seconds left, he could have very well put the game on ice. All of this after a career-outing, in the toughest spot he's faced as a starter in his short time at Oklahoma.
14 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. The six swats tie a career-high. It was his first career double-double.
With each start we've seen his confidence continue to grow. I'd suspect that growth continues as Oklahoma moves deeper into conference play, but obviously a tough lesson learned in Lawrence.
In closing ... Isaiah Cousins is going to have to play better if Oklahoma wants to really make this year special ... the coaches believe in him, he needs to believe in himself. He seems to get frustrated too oftn when things aren't going right. It's probably a good thing he has a chatter bug like Hield in his ear 24/7, they are roommates afterall. I got a kick out of Dante Buford trying to throwdown on the entire Kansas defense on his first touch of the game. Think it's a good something to see out of a freshman playing in his first game at Allen Fieldhouse ... really excited to see his growth as he'll be an assest come tournamnet time ... one of my buddies might have said it best tonight: 'if (Buford) can be Johnnie Gilbert good (they'd) benefit greatly' ... I couldn't have said it better myself. Perhaps there was a reason Ryan Spangler looked so tired? Nothing other than plain old exhaustion. Spangler set the OU record for minutes in a game (51) by a player 6-foot-8 or more. (I'm really not sure if that was even a stat prior to tonight) ... regardless it's impressive considering he was a bit hampered by the sustained less than 48 hours ago vs. Iowa State ... Spangler finished the night with 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds ... it was his sixth double-double this season, 23rd career double-double
The biggest key now moving forward? It's pretty simple ... Don't let a single loss turn into anything but exactly what it is.
This early in conference play, it'd be crazy to not think a league title is still within reach. That task becomes much harder if you go out and drop a game you aren't supposed to. Kansas State seems to have OU's number the last couple seasons, including a sweep of Oklahoma just last year.
They'll come in and play you physically. It won't be pretty. Atleast Bruce Weber's club will try to make it ugly.
Certainly not something that is too welcomed after a three-overtime extravaganza in the game prior. Luckily, Lon Kruger's club will have a few days to rest with the next game not coming until Saturday.
This isn't crazy IMO ...
https://twitter.com/SorrelsFour/status/684247199710986241
Next up: Oklahoma hosts Kansas State at 3:30p on Saturday
It was over when: Buddy Hield's potential game tying three bounced off the backboard, ending an instant-classic Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas the victor 109-106 in triple overtime.
Was it the best game I've ever witnessed? Yes, yes it was. Oklahoma sports information director Mike Houck, who previously served as the team's color commentator -- and has seen plenty of OU hoops over the last decade and half would agree, as well.
Buddy went B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Ya know those games where everyone has a story. The kind in which the performance is so grand you start your story with, 'I remember when ...'. This was that kind of performance from the kid they call 'Buddy Love'.
Hield finished with a career-high 46 points, sending a message to the rest of the college basketball.
You're going to have to do better than Hield to win this year's Naismith Player of the Year. And it's going to be damn hard to do so after a career-performance in front of a national audience.
https://twitter.com/clubtrillion/status/684245705213382656
Let's take a closer look at Hield's performance, setting career-highs in:
Points (46)
Minutes (54)
FGs (13)
3s (8)
FTs (12)
- most by any visiting player in Lawrence
- most pts by player vs. No.1 in 20 seasons
- 6th highest scoring game in OU history
- 13 FGs is most makes a player in a conference game against Kansas since Kevin Durant in 2007
- 8 3s is most against Kansas since 2009
Perhaps more impressive - and mostly unnoticed- was Hield's 7 assists on the night, tying a career-high.
Short story: While in college I was lucky enough to travel and cover Oklahoma basketball's run through the 2008-09 season with the student media.
After traveling to Kansas City, our travels took us to Memphis and a Sweet 16 date with Syracuse. North Carolina- who would defeat Oklahoma in the Elite Eight- played prior to the Oklahoma-Syracuse game.
In between games, I marveled as North Carolina fans stayed around FedEx Forum to watch Blake Griffin go through warm-ups. Ridiculous dunk after ridiculous dunk the Tar Heel faithful erupted with applause. Impressed to say the least.
That night I realized how special it was to watch Griffin in person on a regular basis. I knew he was special, but I didn't realize he was that special. It was somewhat of a newfound respect for Griffin who I had watched grown up around the OKC-area.
Following Monday night's loss at The Phog, Hield somewhat solidified himself in his own right. Love 'em or hate 'em Kansas basketball fans are passionate, much like those North Carolina fans that applauded Griffin's efforts. Real recognize real in the basketball world.
I'd let Jordan Woodard get something out of my eye ... Jordan Woodard finished the night with 27 points, one point shy of his career-high. You could make the argument there's not another player on the team that you would rather handle the ball.
Woodard tied a career-high with six makes from behind the arc, none bigger than the final one putting Oklahoma up two with 1:01 to play, but fouled out with :43 seconds left in the game.
Woodard dished 7 assists on the night, driving and finding Khadeem Lattin for numerous rim rattlers throughout the night.
Poor Khadeem ... I've taken a liking to Khadeem Lattin. From the first time we spoke two years ago at media day, he seems to be a genuially good, hardworking kid.
https://twitter.com/khadeemlattin/status/684269213393944576
Make even one free throw, and with less than 3 seconds left, he could have very well put the game on ice. All of this after a career-outing, in the toughest spot he's faced as a starter in his short time at Oklahoma.
14 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. The six swats tie a career-high. It was his first career double-double.
With each start we've seen his confidence continue to grow. I'd suspect that growth continues as Oklahoma moves deeper into conference play, but obviously a tough lesson learned in Lawrence.
In closing ... Isaiah Cousins is going to have to play better if Oklahoma wants to really make this year special ... the coaches believe in him, he needs to believe in himself. He seems to get frustrated too oftn when things aren't going right. It's probably a good thing he has a chatter bug like Hield in his ear 24/7, they are roommates afterall. I got a kick out of Dante Buford trying to throwdown on the entire Kansas defense on his first touch of the game. Think it's a good something to see out of a freshman playing in his first game at Allen Fieldhouse ... really excited to see his growth as he'll be an assest come tournamnet time ... one of my buddies might have said it best tonight: 'if (Buford) can be Johnnie Gilbert good (they'd) benefit greatly' ... I couldn't have said it better myself. Perhaps there was a reason Ryan Spangler looked so tired? Nothing other than plain old exhaustion. Spangler set the OU record for minutes in a game (51) by a player 6-foot-8 or more. (I'm really not sure if that was even a stat prior to tonight) ... regardless it's impressive considering he was a bit hampered by the sustained less than 48 hours ago vs. Iowa State ... Spangler finished the night with 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds ... it was his sixth double-double this season, 23rd career double-double
The biggest key now moving forward? It's pretty simple ... Don't let a single loss turn into anything but exactly what it is.
This early in conference play, it'd be crazy to not think a league title is still within reach. That task becomes much harder if you go out and drop a game you aren't supposed to. Kansas State seems to have OU's number the last couple seasons, including a sweep of Oklahoma just last year.
They'll come in and play you physically. It won't be pretty. Atleast Bruce Weber's club will try to make it ugly.
Certainly not something that is too welcomed after a three-overtime extravaganza in the game prior. Luckily, Lon Kruger's club will have a few days to rest with the next game not coming until Saturday.
This isn't crazy IMO ...
https://twitter.com/SorrelsFour/status/684247199710986241
Next up: Oklahoma hosts Kansas State at 3:30p on Saturday
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