Oregon forward Jordan Bell emphatically blocked Oklahoma forward Dante Buford in the Elite Eight
The Oklahoma Sooners and Buddy Hield in particular came out firing in the first half of their Elite Eight March Madness matchup against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday evening, jumping out to an early lead. However, Jordan Bell came in off the bench and was ready to make sure that Oklahoma wasn’t going to be getting any easy buckets—or really any buckets at all—at the rim on his watch.
One of Bell’s first plays after entering the game was to rotate over on the right block and swat a shot to start a fast break for Oregon. However, he was just getting warmed up. Not long after, Sooners forward Dane Buford tried to drive in to throw down what looked like it’d have been a huge dunk, but Jordan Bell was having none of it and stopped him with an emphatic rejection at the rim:
Bell caught a lot of eyes with the Ducks in the Sweet 16 when his shot blocking, rebounding, and energy really helped to galvanize Oregon in their win over the Duke Blue Devils. Though the Ducks still trailed after Bell’s two big blocks, the momentum of the game was decidedly less in favor of the Sooners after them.
While players like Dillon Brooks, Elgin Cook, and Tyler Dorsey deservedly get a lot of shine for Oregon, Jordan Bell could be the X-Factor for the Ducks in the Elite Eight and beyond if they advance. With the ability to block shots like that, it’s not hard to see why.
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