No. 10 VCU made an incredible rally in the second half to make this game intense, but Buddy Hield and No. 2 Oklahoma ensured that the Commodores wouldn’t complete the comeback. The Sonners held on for the 85-81 win, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row.
NCAA bracket 2016: Oklahoma holds off VCU comeback, advances to Sweet 16
VCU came back from a big halftime deficit, but it wasn’t enough to pull the upset. Buddy Hield and the Sooners survive and advance.
The Sooners jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half and went into halftime up 44-31. This game was looking like a laugher early on, but VCU came storming back in the second half. The Commodores tied the game at 59-all with 11 minutes to go. They took their first lead of the game since 2-0 when Michael Gilmore nailed a three-pointer from the corner.
However, the Sooners quickly got their lead back. Hield drained a three-point shot to give his team a 66-65 lead, and from there Oklahoma rattled off a 9-2 lead to pull away from the Commodores. Hield delivered the dagger with yet another clutch three-pointer, giving the Sooners an eight-point lead with two minutes left. This time, VCU didn’t have enough to make the comeback.
Hield was a force of nature in the second half, finishing the game with 36 points on 11-of-20 shooting. It’s his eleventh 30-point game of the season.
The Sooners move on to face either Texas A&M or Northern Iowa in the Sweet Sixteen.
Bracket
Our new printable bracket can be found here.
Sunday’s final scores
No. 2 Villanova 87, No. 7 Iowa 68
No. 6 Notre Dame 76, No. 14 Stephen F. Austin 75
No. 2 Oklahoma 85, No. 10 VCU 81
In progress
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 15 Middle Tennessee (TNT)
No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 13 Hawai’i (TBS)
Still to come (all times Eastern)
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa, 7:45 p.m. (truTV)
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 7 Wisconsin, 8:40 p.m. (TNT)
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 St. Joseph's, 9:40 p.m. (TBS)
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