Texas A&M vs Oklahoma was one of those matchups everyone was looking forward to, and it was a good one.
Oklahoma came in as the No. 2 seed and Texas A&M the No. 3 seed in the West Region while both teams have fought hard to get to the Sweet 16. The Aggies came back from 12 down with under a minute left to take down Northern Iowa in overtime and the Sooners held off a pesky VCU team.
Last year, the Sooners lost in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State and this season they were hoping for a much different result. A year ago, the Aggies were sitting at home after missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season.
The Sooners came out firing early and looked like the more prepared team. Oklahoma took a 19-point lead into halftime thanks to a combined 25 points from Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard.
Texas A&M needed to come out strong in the second half to avoid a second straight blowout in Thursday’s first two Sweet 16 matchups. However, the second was much like the first and the Sooners ran away with the game.
Three Stars
Buddy Hield will probably always be the Sooners top player until he graduates. The sharpshooting guard finished with his first double-double of the year, scoring 22 points and securing 10 rebounds.
Jordan Woodard led all scorers as the Oklahoma guard finished with 22 points and five assists.
Texas A&M was led by Tyler Davis who did his best to keep the Aggies in the game, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Highlights
"Oklahoma wasted no time to oop it up! #Sweet16https://t.co/Gu3r4R5gBj— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 24, 2016"
"No. 2 Oklahoma making it look easy! #MarchMadnesshttps://t.co/IHXfZgBczE— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 25, 2016"
Oklahoma throwing down the boom. (Vine by @CBSSports) https://t.co/g4moFhdkmM
— Rickard Bergquist (@sportblogg) March 25, 2016
"EVERYTHING going Oklahoma’s way. #Sweet16https://t.co/9WuCYq0TGF— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 25, 2016"
Buddy Hield, not just a shooter. That's a professional basketball move... #MarchMadness https://t.co/dkRq9EFuSl
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 24, 2016
Let's check in on Buddy Hield. https://t.co/QJoTJhNtVL
— rushtheBig12 (@b12hoops) March 25, 2016
Odds
Oklahoma was just a three-point favorite and ended up covering that, and then some. The Sooners won by 14 points, moving on to the Elite Eight.
What’s Next?
The Sooners will play the winner of Thursday’s No. 1 Oregon versus No. 4 seed Duke game at 10:07 p.m. ET. The winner of that contest will go on to play in the Elite Eight Saturday for a shot at the Final Four.
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