The No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners took on the No. 11 Dayton Flyers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio in the Round of 32. Dayton defeated No. 11 Boise State in the First Four game and then No. 6 Providence by an outstanding 13 points in the Round of 64. Oklahoma took down No. 14 Albany by nine points.
In the game that started at 6:10 PM EST, Oklahoma fought hard early and had a two point halftime lead. They won the second half as well to secure a 72-66 victory.
Dayton fell off the train early and were down by more than 10 points, but they got back on the tracks and made it interesting. Jordan Woodard got a steal with 5:56 left in the second half and dished it to Buddy Hield for a layup to give Oklahoma a lead that they never lost.
Leading the Sooners were Woodard and Hield, both had 35 minutes and were key factors to a ride to the Sweet 16.
Woodard went 3-for-9 from the field, 1-for-2 from deep and an outstanding 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. He finished the night with 16 points, two rebounds, three assists, four steals and three turnovers.
Hield shot 4-for-13 from the field, 1-for-6 from downtown and 6-for-8 from the stripe. It was an all-around decent night for the guard. Hield scored 15 points, had three rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers in the win.
Oklahoma shot 45 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep and 79 percent from the free throw line. It was a very efficient night. The Sooners ripped down 35 rebounds and made 13 assists. They turned the ball over 15 times, but still came out with the win.
Leading the Flyers were Scoochie Smith and Darrell Davis, who came off the bench. Smith played 37 minutes and Davis played 26. However, Davis was arguably the best player for Dayton tonight even though he did not play as much as some of the others.
Smith shot 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-2 from long range and 4-f0r-5 from the free throw line. The guard finished the night with 16 poinys, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and three turnovers in the tough loss.
Davis, who came off the bench, outplayed many Flyers against Oklahoma. He finished with 15 points on 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-7 from downtown. Davis did not attempt a free throw. He added three rebounds, one assists and one steal. He turned the ball over just once in the loss.
Dayton shot 43 percent from the field, 52 percent from three point land and 85 percent from the free throw line. They only managed to get 23 rebounds, which is what really killed them on the court. They made 12 assists and the Flyers turned the ball over 13 times.
Oklahoma will move on in the NCAA Tournament to face the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans, who upset the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers earlier on Sunday.
As for Dayton, their season is over. They were attempting to reach the Sweet 16 for two straight years, but they came up just short.