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Buddy Hield finds his Sweet 16 stroke, carries Oklahoma over VCU

Kyle Ringo

Oklahoma senior Buddy Hield had the opportunity Sunday to steal votes away from his competition for national player of the year awards and send his team to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season in the process. He made the most of it.

Hield started slowly in a 85-81 victory over VCU in the second round of the NCAA tournament, but he caught fire in the second half, scoring 29 of his 36 points to carry the Sooners to a huge win in Oklahoma City. At one point in the second half, Hield had the crowd chanting his name.

It is the 11th time this season Hield has scored 30 or more points in a game and the ninth time this season he scored 20 or more points in a half.

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The performance and how vital it was to Oklahoma advancing is likely to earn more votes for Hield for any national player of the year awards still up for grabs. The balloting for those honors is expected to be among the tightest races in years between Hield and Michigan State senior Denzel Valentine.

Hield was stymied in a loss to West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference tournament last week, scoring just six points. It was his only single-digit scoring performance of the season. It looked for a time Sunday like he might be enduring a similar game against a similar team in VCU. He had just seven points at halftime.

But Hield found his shot and the confidence that allows him to rip the nets from seemingly anywhere inside the half-court stripe and the Sooners are on their way to Anaheim for a meeting with Texas A&M.

Oklahoma hasn’t been to the Elite Eight since 2009 and hasn’t advanced to the Final Four since 2002. These Sooners are certainly capable of snapping both of those streaks and even winning a national title because they are one of the most experienced teams in the field and have, perhaps, the nation’s best player.

Senior Melvin Johnson scored 23 points to lead VCU in what has been a successful season for first-year coach Will Wade, who was hired last spring when beloved coach Shaka Smart took the job at Texas.

Fellow senior Korey Billbury saw his career end with just three points and a 0-for-6 shooting performance. JeQuan Lewis scored 22 for the Rams.

While Hield dominated, he had plenty of help from his backcourt mates Jordan Woodard, who scored 17, and Isaiah Cousin, who scored 15.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!