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Buddy Up |
It was more a question of "when," not "if." With the Sooners struggling to consistently put points on the scoreboard, when would freshman guard Buddy Hield, an offensive-minded reserve, be asked to make the jump to the starting lineup?
The answer came last Saturday when head coach Lon Kruger gave Hield the starting nod against Ohio, a team that won a school-record 29 games last year, lost in overtime in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 and returned its top nine scorers. The move paid off big time, as Hield was a major reason OU posted a 74-63 win. Although he scored just five points, the Freeport, Bahamas, native finished with seven assists (against just one turnover) and four steals -- both season highs by any Sooner, illustrating that Hield can do much more than score.
"Buddy's been a good player all year long," Kruger said. "He could have well been a starter anywhere along the way. He gives us good activity, good life.
"He's making progress and has great enthusiasm. He competes hard and is a great teammate, so everyone is excited."
Hield followed with seven points, five rebounds and three more assists in just 22 minutes against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday, a 72-42 blowout victory. On the year, he ranks fourth on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg), third in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and tied for first in steals (1.3 spg). The 6-3, 199-pounder has made 13 3-pointers, the second-highest total on the team.
"It was a happy moment for me," said Hield of finding out he would start against Ohio. "But whether I come off the bench or not, I have to be ready to produce for the team. Produce in the right way, not a negative way. Keep on being positive on the court, making plays and scoring the basketball and playing defense. Just helping the team to win in the best possible way."
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Second Season |
The new year marks a new beginning for college basketball teams with the onset of the conference season. Oklahoma opens the 2013 Big 12 campaign on the road Saturday at 3 p.m. CT against league newcomer West Virginia. With conference play comes tougher competition and bigger stakes.
"I think the expectation changes, and the general level of play," junior Amath M'Baye said. "We're going to play great teams, and pretty much every team has a chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The level of play is going to increase and the expectations are going to increase for us too."
Many teams view the conference portion of the schedule as the second of three seasons. After finishing with a 9-3 record in pre-conference action, the Sooners know their chances of making it to the postseason rely on a strong final two months of the season.
"Conference is really what you prepare yourself for," said Romero Osby. "It's the key to getting into the NCAA Tournament, it's the key to being able to compete for a championship, so it's always different. The physicality is going to change, everybody's going to know what we're running. It's an all-out battle every game, and it's something you have to come to love.
"I expect it to be physical, I expect it to be fun. It's always fun playing against the best teams. It's an all-out war, and something we're going to enjoy and work hard to compete with."
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Round Two |
Oklahoma posted a 77-70 win over West Virginia in the Old Spice Classic third-place game Nov. 25 in Orlando, Fla. It was a rare matchup of league opponents in non-conference play. How does that outcome six weeks ago factor in to Saturday's rematch in Morgantown to open Big 12 play?
"The fact that we won the first game, I think it gives us a little bit of confidence going into it because we know what to expect and we know what we have to do," said M'Baye, who scored a season-high 19 points in the first meeting.
Frontcourt mate Romero Osby looks at it from a slightly different angle. Because the Sooners won round one, the Mountaineers will be out for revenge.
"It's going to be different in the fact that they're going to come out hard. We beat them last time, and now they're on their home floor for their first-ever Big 12 game. It's going to be tough. They're going to come out and they're going to really come after us and try their best to get a win, and we'll do the same."
Kruger said the first meeting doesn't have much of a bearing on Saturday's game.
"It's the same for both teams," said Kruger. "Both teams are a little more familiar with one another from what might be normally heading into the first game of the conference season. They'll be motivated by their first game at home, and we're motivated to go out and try and steal a road game."
OU is 2-1 in true road contests this season. |
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UP NEXT
Oklahoma opens up conference play Saturday at West Virginia before hosting Bedlam a week later:
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
1/5 |
at WVU |
3 p.m. |
1/12 |
vs. OSU |
2 p.m. |
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 Tickets | Full Schedule
 MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners defeated 2012 Sweet 16 participant Ohio and then floored Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at McCasland Field House:
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Lon Kruger
"Exciting time of the year, anytime you start conference play around the country. Teams are a little bit more excited, players are a little more into it, fans are a little more into it. Tough road opener at West Virginia, their first ever, so we know they're a good team and how hard they'll play. It's a new season in a way. Everybody approaches it like that, so conference is kind of a new beginning, coming out of the holiday season, ready for a two-month grind."
Junior F Amath M'Baye
"It's a new season, like the playoffs in the NBA. What you've done before matters, but it doesn't matter as much anymore. You get the chance to go out there and play against some of the best teams in the country every night and you to have somewhat of a clear record. It's a good feeling."
Freshman G Buddy Hield
"I expect it to be more physical. Whatever comes on offense is never going to be easy, and defense is going to be more challenging. We're going to have to be focused and ready to execute plays."
TEAM NOTES
OU has put together two of its best offensive halves of the season over the course of the last two games. The Sooners scored 45 second-half points in Saturday's 74-63 win over Ohio thanks to torrid 17-for-24 (.708) field goal and 3-for-4 (.750) 3-point shooting. They followed that effort with a 40-point first half against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday, going 6-for-13 (.462) from 3-point range in an eventual 72-42 victory.
Six Sooners scored at least 8 points in the first meeting with West Virginia on Nov. 25, a 77-70 OU victory. Junior Amath M'Baye and freshman Je'lon Hornbeak led the way with 19 and 14 points, respectively. The point totals for both players still stand as season highs.
Oklahoma has already won more games away from home this year (5-2 record) as it did all of last season (4-11 record). The Sooners have 10 more games left on the regular season schedule that will be played away from Lloyd Noble Center (including Saturday's game at WVU).
2012-13 Game Notes
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Junior F Amath M'Baye
M'Baye was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Monday after recording 16 points, a team-high-tying 6 rebounds and a season-high 3 steals in OU's lone game last week, a 74-63 win over Ohio. M'Baye was 6-for-8 from the field in his 22 minutes. It was the second such honor for the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, who was also named Rookie of the Week on Nov. 26 following his performance in the three-game Old Spice Classic.
Senior G Steven Pledger
The Big 12's leading returning scorer from last year (16.2 ppg), Steven Pledger is coming off games of 18 points (season-high) against Ohio and 17 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-for-10 from 3-point range). He continues to climb OU's career charts in scoring and 3-pointers, ranking 27th in school history with 1,160 points and fourth with 205 career 3-pointers.
Junior G Cameron Clark
After shooting .238 from the field (5-for-21) in the first four games this season, Cameron Clark is shooting .581 in eight games since (25-for-43). Included was a 17-point eruption against Texas A&M on Dec. 15 in which he was 8-for-12 from the field. Clark leads the team with his .895 free throw percentage (17-for-19).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Stay connected with the OU men's basketball team by following our feeds on Twitter and Instagram:
Twitter: @SoonerHoops
Instagram: @ou_mbasketball
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