Hield Shoots OU to Season-Opening Win

SE Louisiana

19/19 Oklahoma

Stat Comparison
Category	SLU	OU
Points	53	78
FGM-A	21-64	29-75
FG%	32.8	38.7
3 FGM-A	3-20	9-21
3 FG%	15.0	42.9
FTM-A	8-16	11-17
FT%	50.0	64.7
Rebounds	47	49
Assists	10	13
Turnovers	20	10
Blocks	8	2
Steals	5	8

Individual Leaders
Category	SLU	OU
Points	Guillory - 16	Hield - 25
Rebounds	Upson - 11	Spangler - 11
Assists	Four Players - 2	Woodard - 7
Steals	Upson - 3	Woodard - 4
Blocks	Upson - 6	Two Players - 1

Player of the Game
Buddy Hield // Jr. // G Hield scored 25 points in 28 minutes of play and added seven rebounds. He set a school record and tied the Big 12 record with seven 3-pointers without a miss.

NORMAN (AP) -- Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield had made it a goal this season to be more aggressive in going to the basket. But, he said, "You can't turn down a wide-open shot."

That's especially the case for someone making every shot.

Hield hit all seven of his 3-point tries and scored 25 points as the No. 19 Sooners coasted in their season opener, beating Southeastern Louisiana 78-53 on Sunday.

Hield's first 3 came during a 16-0 run to begin the game and he maintained his sharp shooting hand while setting a career single-game high for 3s.

The senior guard, who led Oklahoma with 90 3-pointers last season, set the school record for shooting percentage on 3s in a game. Michael Johnson (vs. Kansas State on Jan. 23, 1999) and Terry Evans (vs. UNLV on Jan. 9, 1989) shared the previous record of 6 of 6.

Hield tied the Big 12 Conference record set last season by Dusty Hannahs of Texas Tech, who went 7 of 7 at West Virginia.

"It was great to see Buddy get in rhythm," Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said.

"The guys did a good job of getting him the ball in rhythm. He got a couple in transition, he got a couple off the dribble, he got a couple from Isaiah (Cousins) and Jordan (Woodard), so he got them a lot of different ways. ... It was good to see that in the first game."

Cousins added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Ryan Spangler had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma (1-0).

Andrew Guillory led Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) with 16 points. The Lions didn't score until their 14th possession, when Bret Barclay hit a pair of free throws.

The Lions missed their first 14 shots before Onochie Ochie scored with 11:47 left in the half. Ochie finished with 10 points.

Southeastern Louisiana coach Jay Ladner, in his first season at the Southland Conference school, said the Lions suited up just six scholarship players.

"We're playing a lot of walk-ons," Ladner said. "We did some of the same things that got us in trouble the other night at Oklahoma State -- poor execution, a lack of chemistry. Most of our players are new to each other. It's just a growth process for us right now."

After two straight NCAA tournament appearances, expectations at Oklahoma are the highest they've been since Blake Griffin and the Sooners made the round of eight in the 2009 NCAA tournament.

With four returning starters off a team that finished 23-10 and was second in the Big 12, Oklahoma was ranked in the preseason AP poll for the first time in five years.

The Sooners ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in scoring last season at 81.9 points per game, reaching at least 80 points 18 times. They almost did so Sunday despite shooting 39 percent from the field.