March 15, 2015
NORMAN — For the third straight season, the Oklahoma men’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Lon Kruger. The 22-10 Sooners were named Sunday as the No. 3 seed in the event’s East Region and will take on No. 14 seed Albany (24-8) on Friday in Columbus, Ohio (tip time and television info TBA).
If OU wins its tournament opener, it will play Sunday against the winner of Friday’s contest between No. 6 seed Providence (22-11) and a play-in game for the No. 11 seed between Boise State (25-8) and Dayton (25-8). Games in Columbus will be played at Nationwide Arena.
The Sooners, who finished tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 12-6 mark and advanced to the conference championship’s semifinals, are making their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance. Their 25 appearances since 1983 are the second most in the Big 12 during the span behind Kansas’ 31 and tied with Michigan State for ninth most nationally.
“It’s a great time of year. Everyone looks at Selection Sunday with great anticipation and our guys have really had a terrific year,” said Kruger, who is making his 16th trip to the NCAA Tournament as head coach. “They have us as a 3 seed and I’m very proud for them. They have earned that. It’s a new season altogether. Everyone starts from scratch.
“I think it’s a compliment to these guys, what they have done, the progress they have made, to the conference, and the quality of competition,” Kruger added about his team’s seeding. “Now we have to step out and show that we are deserving of that.”
Two seasons ago, Kruger became the first head coach in Division I history to guide five programs to the NCAA Tournament. He has taken all five programs to at least two appearances and is looking to become the first to coach five programs to at least one NCAA Tournament win. Kruger has led Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV to at least one victory each in the Big Dance. He guided K-State to the 1988 Elite Eight, Florida to the 1994 Final Four and UNLV to the 2007 Sweet 16.
Leading the Sooners into Thursday’s game will be junior guard Buddy Hield and senior forward TaShawn Thomas.
Hield, the Big 12 Player of the Year, is averaging a league-best 17.5 points a game this season and leads the conference’s guards with his 5.5 rebounds a contest. The Freeport, Bahamas, native is one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award and became the first player in Big 12 men’s basketball history to lead the league in scoring, be recognized as the conference’s player of the year and to make the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
“It’s a good draw for us, but you can’t go in overlooking any team,” Hield said. “We have to go in and play hard and we have to be ready. Coach (Kruger) and all of the players are going to be ready for this week’s practice, and we should get after it. We haven’t won at the tournament yet, so I want to make that dream come true.
When asked what it would mean to win a game in the Big Dance, Hield said, “It would mean a lot, but it would mean a lot to get more. This is a hungry team and everyone has worked so hard. The best is yet to come from us.”
Thomas, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and third-team all-league selection, will make his first NCAA Tournament appearance after transferring from Houston. He is averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds (sixth in Big 12) and 1.4 blocks (sixth) while shooting .516 from the floor (second).
“It’s just a dream come true (making the NCAA Tournament). I have always wanted to go,” Thomas said. “To transfer to a school that had a chance of making the tournament and being a 3 seed is just so surreal to me right now. I was lost for words talking to the rest of the team earlier. I’m just excited right now.”
Friday’s game will mark OU’s first against Albany. The Great Danes, coached by Will Brown, finished 15-1 in the America East Conference and beat Stony Brook 51-50 in their league tournament title game Saturday.
“We’ll watch a lot of film on (Albany) tonight,” Kruger said. “Coach (Will) Brown has been there a while and always does a good job there. As far as this particular team, we’ll know more after we watch tonight. I know they had an exciting win. I saw the highlights of their championship game final field goal and that was exciting.”
Oklahoma has played 17 games this year against teams in the NCAA Tournament field and went 11-6 in those contests. OU’s seven wins against AP Top-25 teams this year are the most in school history.
The Sooners own a 36-28 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and have made four Final Four appearances (1939, 1947, 1988 and 2002), three Elite Eight showings and four Sweet 16 appearances. They reached the national championship game in 1947 and 1988.
Oklahoma fans wanting to purchase tickets to OU's game(s) in Columbus should contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 800-456-4668 or visit SoonerSports.com.
