Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus East Texas A&M on November 2, 2026
Men's Basketball
vs East Texas A&M
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Old Foes Collide in Sweet 16 Showdown
March 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball
15/15 Texas A&M
7/7 Oklahoma
March 24 | 6:37 p.m. CT | Anaheim, Calif. | Honda Center
SETTING THE SCENE
Making its second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 under fifth year head coach Lon Kruger, No. 2 seed Oklahoma (27-7 overall, 12-6 Big 12) will meet No. 3 seed Texas A&M (28-8 overall, 13-5 SEC) in Thursday's West Regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif. The contest, to be played at the 18,336-seat Honda Center, will start at 6:37 p.m. CT.
Should it advance to the regional final, Oklahoma will face the winner of Thursday's Oregon (No. 1 seed) versus Duke (No. 4 seed) matchup on Saturday (time TBA).
ON THE AIR
All of OU's NCAA Tournament games will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland (play by play) and Scott Thompson (analyst) calling the action. Thursday's game will be televised nationally by TBS with Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel and Allie LaForce announcing. It will also air on the Westwood One Network (Sirius 83, XM 202) with Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall on the call.
SOONER STORYLINES
• SWEET AGAIN: Making its second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 under fifth year head coach Lon Kruger, No. 2 seed Oklahoma (27-7 overall, 12-6 Big 12) will meet No. 3 seed Texas A&M (28-8 overall, 13-5 SEC) in Thursday's West Regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif. The contest, to be played at the 18,336-seat Honda Center, will start at 6:37 p.m. CT. OU advanced to Anaheim with wins over CSU Bakersfield and VCU in the first and second rounds in OKC, respectively. It's Oklahoma's 30th all-time trip to the NCAA Tournament, including the fourth straight. This year's Sweet 16 appearance is the 11th in program history.
• FAMILIAR FOE: The Sooners are certainly no stranger to the Aggies, as the two were members of the Big 12 Conference together until 2012, when Texas A&M moved to the SEC. The Sooners own a 31-10 advantage over the Aggies in the all-time series. The two teams last met on Dec. 21, 2013 in Oklahoma City in the All-College Classic (OU won 64-52).
• KEEPING IT (OVER) 100: The Sooners aren't short on experience or leadership this season. OU's quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard has started every game (102 consecutive) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 408 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (34 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 469 combined career starts. Each member of the 'core four' has at least 1,000 points in his respective career at Oklahoma.
• GETTING OFFENSIVE: OU currently ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.425) by hitting 353-830 of its shots from downtown. Oklahoma's all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a campaign is .414 (1986-87). OU has connected on at least 10 treys in 22 games this year (a school record) and it's 10.4 3-point makes per game ranks seventh nationally (first in Big 12). OU's 353 total 3-point field goals made this season ranks fifth in the country (first in the Big 12).
• BUDDYBUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.4 points per game, which ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally (first among Power 5 conferences). The two-time Big 12 Player of the Year has scored at least 20 points in 25 games this season and his 46.3 percent (136-294) shooting from downtown ranks fifth in the country. His 4.0 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. The Bahamas native has 11 games of at least 30 points this season (one more than rest of Big 12 combined, most in the nation) and 13 total such games in his career at Oklahoma (tied with Michael Beasley for most in Big 12 history).
FAST FACTS ON THE AGGIES
• Texas A&M enters the West Regional semifinals with a 28-8 record following wins over No. 14 seed Green Bay (92-65) and No. 11 seed Northern Iowa (92-88 in double overtime) in Oklahoma City last weekend. The 28 victories are its most in school history. Since a four-game losing streak to start February, the Aggies have won 10 of their last 11 contests, with their lone defeat during the stretch coming in overtime to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship game.
• Texas A&M shared the SEC regular season title with Kentucky by going 13-5 and was the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. It was A&M's first regular season league crown since 1986.
• The Aggies are led by seniors Danuel House and Jalen Jones. House averages a team-high 15.8 points per game, as well as 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Jones averages 15.4 points and a team-high 7.1 boards a contest.
• Billy Kennedy, the 2016 SEC Coach of the Year, is 99-68 in his fifth year at Texas A&M. This is his third trip to the NCAA Tournament and first with the Aggies (also took Southeastern Louisiana in 2005 and Murray State in 2010).
• This is A&M's 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and third trip to the Sweet 16 (also in 1980 and 2007). The Aggies are 11-13 all-time in the Big Dance.
KRUGER IN THE BIG DANCE
• Three years ago, Lon Kruger became the first head coach in history to take five Division I programs to the NCAA Tournament (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma). To this day, he is the only person to coach five different programs to at least one NCAA Tournament victory each. He has won at least two NCAA Tourney games at all five schools.
• This marks Kruger's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach and eighth in the last 10 seasons. He owns an 18-16 overall record and following Sunday's victory over VCU and is 10-7 in opening-round games. In his last coaching stop at UNLV, Kruger took the Runnin' Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in four of his final five seasons.
• Last year, Kruger became the first coach since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to take four programs to the Sweet 16 or beyond (Kansas State to the Elite Eight in 1988, Florida to the Final Four in 1994, UNLV to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and Oklahoma to the Sweet 16 in 2015 and 2016).
• Kruger participated in the 1972 and '73 NCAA Tournaments as a player at Kansas State and helped the Wildcats to regional final (Elite Eight) appearances both seasons. K-State went 1-1 in 1972 when Kruger was the Big Eight sophomore of the year (beat Texas 66-55 before losing 72-65 to Louisville). The Wildcats again went 1-1 in 1973 when Kruger was the Big Eight player of the year (beat Louisiana-Lafayette 66-63 before falling 92-72 to Memphis).
NCAA TOURNEY QUICK HITTERS
• Following Sunday's second-round victory, Oklahoma owns a 39-29 overall record in the NCAA Tournament (in 30 total trips to the Big Dance). This year's NCAA Tournament appearance marks OU's 31st postseason showing in the last 35 years and its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 34 seasons (tied with Michigan State for ninth-most nationally and second-most among Big 12 programs).
• This is Oklahoma's 11th total trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. It's also the first back-to-back such trip for the program since 2002 (Final Four) and 2003 (Elite Eight). This marks Lon Kruger's fifth trip to the Sweet 16 as a head coach.
• This is the ninth time OU has been a top-two seed in the NCAA Tournament (five times as a No. 1 seed, now four times as a No. 2).
• The last time Oklahoma was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tourney, Blake Griffin and company advanced to the Elite Eight in 2009.
• OU's No. 2 seed marks the highest by a Lon Kruger-coached team. Florida was a No. 3 seed in 1994 (advanced to Final Four). OU was also a No. 3 seed last postseason.
• This marks the 10th time OU has been assigned to the West Region. The Sooners have come out of the West in three of their four Final Four appearances (1939, 1947, 2002).
• Entering the tourney, Oklahoma played 17 of its 32 games this season against a total of nine teams who are in the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, and is 11-6 in those contests. OU has beaten eight of those nine squads (did not defeat Kansas).
SOONER SEASON NUGGETS
• In the NCAA Second Round, OU picked up its 27th win of the season. The Sooners have topped their previous year's win total each of the last six seasons (had 24 a year ago).
• Oklahoma owns an 8-5 record this season against teams ranked in the AP's top 25 (at the time of competition). That eight-win total is the most in school history and is the second-most among Big 12 schools this season. OU has two wins this season against top-10 opponents (then-No. 9 Villanova on Dec. 7 and then-No. 10 West Virginia on Feb. 20).
• OU finished third the 2016 Big 12 Conference race with a 12-6 league record. Kruger's squad advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City (with a win over Iowa State in the quarters), but fell short to No. 9 West Virginia, 69-67.
• The Sooners rank third in the Big 12 and 18th nationally in scoring offense (80.6 points per contest). OU enters Sunday's contest having scored at least 80 points in 17 of 33 total outings this season (two straight). OU is 16-1 this season when scoring 80-plus points.
• On the defensive end, OU ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (.407) and first in both blocked shots (5.3) and defensive rebounds (27.8) per contest.
SOONERS LIGHTING UP DOWNTOWN
• Oklahoma currently ranks second in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.425, 353-830).
• OU's all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a season is .414 (1986-87). The Big 12's record is .426 by Oklahoma State (2004-05).
• OU's average of 10.4 3-point makes per game ranks seventh nationally (first in the Big 12). The Big 12 record for 3-point makes per game currently stands at 9.9 by Iowa State in 2012-13.
• OU has made at least 10 treys in 22 games this season (which marks a school record). In 35 contests last year, the Sooners registered just seven games of double-digit 3-point makes. The Sooners' 353 total 3-point makes this season ranks fifth in the country (first in the Big 12).
• Buddy Hield (.463), Jordan Woodard (.441) and Isaiah Cousins (.430) currently rank as the first-, second- and fifth-best 3-point shooters in the Big 12.
WE CALL HIM #BUDDYBUCKETS
• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 25.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.2 minutes per game. He's shooting .500 (278-556) from the field, .463 (136-294) from 3-point range (which ranks No. 5 in the nation) and .890 (170-191) from the charity stripe. His 5.6 rebounds per game total is best among Big 12 guards.
• Hield's 79 3-pointers made in Big 12 games this year marked the most in a conference season in Big 12 history. His 448 total points in Big 12 games this season were the third-most in a conference campaign in Big 12 history (trailing only Kevin Durant-462 and Michael Beasley- 455).
• His 4.0 3FGM per game ranks first in nation. He has made at least five 3-pointers in a game 13 times this year. His 136 3-pointers made this season are the most in college basketball.
• 30-POINT GAMES: Hield has 11 games this season scoring at least 30 points (one more than the rest of the players in the Big 12 combined, most in the nation). It's the most 30-point games by a Sooner in a season since Wayman Tisdale in the 1983-84 season (15). In his career, Hield has 13 30-point games in his career, which is tied with KSU's Michael Beasley for the most in Big 12 history.
• 25-POINT GAMES: Hield has 18 games this year of at least 25 points (most in nation). In his first three seasons, he combined for six games of at least 25 points.
• 20-POINT GAMES: Hield has at least 20 points in 25 of 34 games this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season. He has nine 20-point halves this season.
• If the season ended today, Hield would be one of only three players in Big 12 history to average at least 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds (Michael Beasley, 07-08, and Kevin Durant, 06-07).
UP NEXT
• Should it advance to the regional final, Oklahoma will face the winner of Thursday's Oregon (No. 1 seed) versus Duke (No. 4 seed) matchup on Saturday (time TBA).
Players Mentioned
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