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SPORTS Friday, March 25, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3B Men’s College Basketball Woodard, Hield lead Oklahoma’s Sweet 16 romp -D\KDZNVZKRPDGHRILQWKH VHFRQGKDOIDQG¿QLVKHGRIIURP WKH¿HOGSHUFHQW Kansas just had to take its time to slow down Maryland, which entered the game with every starter averaging at least 11 points per contest. Its main focus was keeping Maryland guard Melo Trimble (17 points) from getting hot, a strategy that worked as the sophomore made just 5 of 16 from the ¿HOGZLWKMXVWRQHSRLQWHU By BERNIE WILSON Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Okla- homa Sooners proved they can thrive quite nicely in the NCAA Tournament even if Buddy Hield isn’t going off. Because of that, the Sooners are one win away from returning to the Final )RXUIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQVHDVRQV Jordan Woodard scored 22 points and Hield had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Sooners to a 77-63 romp over third- seeded and cold-shooting Texas A&M in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday. It was a nice display of teamwork E\ WKH 6RRQHUV ZKR KDG ¿YH SOD\HUV LQ GRXEOH ¿JXUHV DV WKH\ advanced to the Elite Eight for the ¿UVW WLPH VLQFH 7KH\¶OO SOD\ Saturday against Oregon, which beat Duke Thursday night. “That’s even better,” Hield said. “I’m able to have fun around there and watch my teammates make shots and make plays.” Hield had scored 27 and 36 points LQWKH6RRQHUV¶¿UVWDQGVHFRQGURXQG victories. “We shared the ball really well,” he said. “I’m real proud of the guys for stepping up and making shots. We were just taking advantage of opportu- nities. We tried to drive-and-kick and when they doubled somebody I tried to make the right pass.” Oklahoma lost to North Carolina LQ WKH 6RXWK 5HJLRQDO ¿QDO LQ Oklahoma is trying to reach the Final )RXU IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH VLQFH when it lost to Indiana in the national VHPL¿QDOV Tyler Davis scored 17 for A&M ZKLFK UHDFKHG WKH 6ZHHW 16 with a thrilling double-overtime victory against Northern Iowa after rallying from 12 points down in the ¿QDOVHFRQGVRIUHJXODWLRQ The Sooners made sure it would require a big comeback in this one. They blew open a close game by JRLQJ RQ D UXQ GXULQJ WKH ODVW RI WKH ¿UVW KDOI WR WDNH D lead. The Sooners forced the Aggies into bad shots and turnovers, and Woodard was the catalyst on offense. :RRGDUG VWDUWHG WKH GHFLVLYH ¿UVW half run with a 3-pointer and had VILLANOVA 92, MIAMI 69 — At Louisville, Ky., the Villanova Wildcats keep looking for a better shot, not content with simply a good look at the basket. As a result, they’re putting on quite the clinic in the NCAA Tournament with their latest performance putting WKHPLQWRWKH(OLWH(LJKWIRUWKH¿UVW WLPHVLQFH Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins each scored 21 points and No. 2 seed Villanova never trailed in routing WKLUGVHHGHG 0LDPL 7KXUVGD\ QLJKW LQ WKH 6RXWK 5HJLRQ VHPL¿QDO of the NCAA Tournament. The AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins (11) and guard Jordan Woodard celebrate as Texas A&M guard T.J. Wildcats turned in their best shooting Distefano, left, wipes his face during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the re- performance yet in this tournament, shooting 62.7 percent. gional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Anaheim, Calif. “If any team is shooting the way Miami guard another shot from behind the arc with we’re shooting right now, they’ll Angel Ro- 3:15 to go. He also fed Khadeem easily be the most dangerous team in driguez (13) Lattin for a slam dunk and then hit a the country,” Villanova senior forward goes in for sweet, off-balance bank shot as the Daniel Ochefu said. “But hopefully, a layup past shot clock was close to expiring with we’ll keep shooting like that, so we Villanova about 20 seconds left. forward Dan- can keep playing the way we are.” The Aggies went more than seven iel Ochefu The Wildcats (32-5) earned their PLQXWHVZLWKRXWD¿HOGJRDO during an WKLUG WULS WR WKH UHJLRQDO ¿QDO ZLWK NCAA col- coach Jay Wright and seventh overall, lege basket- coming through with former coach SOUTH REGION ball game in Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova KANSAS 79, MARYLAND Louisville, 63 — At Louisville, Ky., Perry Ellis Ky., Thursday. WR WKH QDWLRQDO FKDPSLRQVKLS sitting nearby. scored 27 points to match a season Villanova Villanova will play top-seeded won 92-69. KLJK :D\QH 6HOGHQ -U DGGHG Kansas on Saturday in the regional and top-seeded Kansas topped No. AP Photo/John ¿QDO ,W¶V UHGHPSWLRQ DIWHU ORVVHV RQ 0DU\ODQG IRU D 1&$$ Flavell the opening weekend each of the past 7RXUQDPHQW 6RXWK 5HJLRQ VHPL¿QDO victory Thursday night. The win put behind senior forward Ellis, who behind the tournament favorite. two NCAA Tournaments. Rasheed Sulaimon led Maryland with “These last couple years and a the Jayhawks back into the Elite 8 for PDGHRIIURPWKH¿HOG Selden was right there with 18 points. couple early exits wasn’t the best WKH¿UVWWLPHVLQFH /DQGHQ /XFDV DGGHG SRLQWV thing for our program, but I think It took time for the Jayhawks 7-of-16 shooting to help Kansas earn WR JHW JRLQJ EXW RQFH WKH\ D EHUWK LQ 6DWXUGD\¶V UHJLRQDO ¿QDO and 11 rebounds while Frank Mason we just remain humble and try to get III had 11 points for Kansas, which back,” Arcidiacono said. “It’s just a ¿QDOO\VHL]HGWKHOHDGODWHLQWKH¿UVW against Villanova. 7KH 7HUUDSLQV GLFWDWHG RXWZRUNHG 0DU\ODQG RQ WKH great feeling.” half everything else fell into place Ochefu added 17 points, and Josh for their 17th straight victory. They WKH HDUO\ WHPSR DQG EULHÀ\ HQJDJHG glass and outscored the taller Terps +DUWKDGIRU9LOODQRYDZKLFKVKRW emerged from the break to make their in a back-and-forth game with the LQWKHSDLQW Better shooting also helped the 62.7 percent (32 of 51). ¿UVWVL[VKRWVDQGVWHDGLO\WDNHFRQWURO Jayhawks before eventually falling Women’s College Basketball Pac-12 living up to its billing in NCAA tournament By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer Throughout the season, the metrics kept saying the Pac-12 Conference was the best in the country. When it came time to back it up in the NCAA Tournament, the Pac-12 delivered. Pac-12 teams will make up 25 percent of the Sweet 16 when the women’s regional VHPL¿QDOVJHWVWDUWHG)ULGD\ No. 2 seed Oregon State, 1R VHHG 8&/$ 1R seed Stanford and No. 7 seed Washington all advanced WKURXJKWKH¿UVWZHHNHQGRI the tournament, giving the 3DFIRXUWHDPVLQWKH¿QDO IRUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQFRQIHU- ence history. The league had never advanced more than WKUHH WHDPV EH\RQG WKH ¿UVW weekend. “It’s awesome for the Pac-12 to have four teams in the Sweet 16. We only VWDUWHG ZLWK ¿YH WR EHJLQ with,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “I think it’s a big statement. I think the win by Washington is huge. Oregon for- ward Jordan Bell, left, and forward Elgin Cook, right, blocks a shot by Duke guard Grayson Allen during the second half of an NCAA college bas- ketball game in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Ana- heim, Calif. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill ... I think people really took care of business and that’s awesome. But we know we’ve been playing against good teams.” Oregon State romped into the regional semis a year after getting upset in the second round. UCLA and Stanford both held off upset bids on their home courts. And Washington pulled the surprise of the ¿UVW WZR URXQGV E\ WDNLQJ out two-time Final Four participant Maryland on the 7HUUDSLQV¶KRPHÀRRU The only stumble came IURP 1R VHHG $UL]RQD State, which saw its run end with a second-round loss to perennial power Tennessee. While the Pac-12 fell on its face in the men’s tourna- ment with six of seven teams eliminated on the opening weekend, the women’s teams are living up to their billing. The SEC is the only other conference to advance four teams to the regional VHPL¿QDOV ³, ZDV KRSLQJ IRU ¿YH´ VanDerveer said. “I think ASU played a team that AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker In this March 21, 2016, file photo, The UCLA bench cheers as they build a double-digit lead in the first half against South Florida during a second-round game in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. in a lot of ways is a really talented team and they just played really well.” Here’s a look at the four remaining Pac-12 teams: OREGON STATE: A season ago, the Beavers were the upstarts looking to the NCAAs as the next step in their progression to becoming an elite program, only to get upset in the second round on their home ÀRRUE\*RQ]DJD That lesson has hung with Oregon State all season and when the same situation presented itself again, the Beavers made quick work of St. Bonaventure. “We know we didn’t want it to feel like that again,” Pac-12 player of the year Jamie Weisner said. “We didn’t focus on the past. We focused on what we had to do going forward.” The Beavers have what appears to be the easiest matchup of the remaining Pac-12 teams, facing No. 6 seed DePaul in the regional semis, but a win there would OLNHO\VHWXSDUHJLRQDO¿QDO against Baylor in Dallas. UCLA: The Bruins are in WKH6ZHHWIRUWKH¿UVWWLPH in 17 years thanks to guard Jordin Canada. Held in check by South Florida for three quarters of the second-round matchup, Canada scored 17 RIKHUSRLQWVLQWKHIRXUWK quarter as the Bruins held on. The last time UCLA reached the regional semi- ¿QDOV ZDV ZKHQ WKH Bruins lost to Louisiana 7HFK LQ WKH UHJLRQDO ¿QDO The Bruins’ reward for getting this far is facing No. 2 seed Texas in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and the winner likely getting a date with undefeated UConn. STANFORD: The Cardinal needed a late rally and Lili Thompson’s three- point play in the closing seconds to beat No. 12 seed South Dakota State in the second round. Stanford did not win a share of the regu- lar-season conference title or the conference tournament IRUWKH¿UVWWLPHVLQFH But the Cardinal are in the Sweet 16 for a ninth straight season. Stanford has the most GLI¿FXOW FKDOOHQJH LQ WKH regional semis, facing No. 1 seed Notre Dame. WASHINGTON: The Huskies are the surprise of the four after beating Mary- land in the second round. It’s been 15 years since the Huskies last made the UHJLRQDOVHPL¿QDOVEXWZLWK a scorer like Kelsey Plum anything is possible with the Huskies. Plum had 32 points in the win over Maryland and will need another big game when Washington faces No. 3 seed Kentucky on the :LOGFDWV¶KRPHÀRRU “We felt like the Pac-12 Conference schedule and conference tournament particularly had really gotten us prepared for (the Mary- land) game and that weekend and the way it all unfolded it turned out to be 100 percent true,” Washington coach Mike Neighbors said. DUCKS: Oregon breaks single-season win record Freshman Brandon Ingram VFRUHG SRLQWV EXW 'XNH IHOO icance of playing Duke, defending national title, all the Final Fours, short of its third Elite Eight trip all the national championships that LQ ¿YH \HDUV ² DQG ERWK FRDFKHV their program has been able to win. agreed the better team won. Allen, the Blue Devils’ leading It was a different feel to it.” scorer, got 12 of his 15 points in Oregon was the champion of the ¿UVW 1&$$ 7RXUQDPHQW LQ the second half, but Duke couldn’t but hasn’t been back to the Final make much progress in the second Four since. The Ducks advanced half. “They’re an athletic team, and WRWKH(OLWH(LJKWIRUWKH¿UVWWLPH that plays into their defense,” said since 2007 and the third time since $OOHQ ZKR ZHQW IRU ³, DOVR 2002. Brooks hit four 3-pointers to thought we missed some shots lead the Ducks, who also broke the around the rim. Could have gone school’s single-season wins record XSVWURQJHUWR¿QLVKEXWJLYHWKHP with their 31st. They’ve won credit for going up to challenge 10 straight since mid-February us.” &RDFK 0LNH .U]\]HZVNL VWLOO while winning the Pac-12’s regu- emerged proud of his young roster lar-season and tournament titles. “They’re not that deep,” Brooks DIWHU ORVLQJ ¿YH RI LWV ¿QDO said of the Blue Devils. “I think games. “They were the better team, that (Grayson) Allen played the whole game. They’ve really only got ZDV SUHWW\ REYLRXV´ .U]\]HZVNL seven guys. We knew they were said. “They knocked us back. They bound to get tired. We just kept were always in control of the game. going and kept going, knowing Right at the end, I thought we could they’d wear out. ... Some of them, do a Texas A&M (comeback) ... their shoulders started to sag. Once EXW WKHQ DPD]LQJ WKLQJV KDYH WR they got tired we could see it.” happen.” Continued from 1B Oregon jumped out to an 11-point lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by Casey Benson and Chris Boucher, and they got the arena rocking with back-to-back fast-break dunks from Bell and Cook moments later. KOBE IN THE HOUSE Kobe Bryant and Apple CEO Tim Cook watched the game from a Duke fan section, while Nike’s Phil Knight was among the Oregon contingent. Rams running back and Duke basketball fan Todd Gurley also attended the game. BRANDON’S BOW Ingram had an outstanding 1&$$ 7RXUQDPHQW VFRULQJ points in Duke’s three games. If the skinny 18-year-old forward heads to the NBA as expected, he’s likely to be a top-three pick after showing incredible promise in his only season in Durham. “I’m not really worried about that right now,” Ingram said of the NBA. ³,¶P ZRUULHG DERXW ¿QLVKLQJ XS school and being with my guys. I love this team and I’d do anything for this team.”
