Just like football: North Dakota State earns historic victory over Big 12 school
North Dakota State played last week as the favorite in the Summit League tournament and came through that bracket and into the NCAA tournament looking dangerous as the nation's best shooting team.
Oklahoma and Big 12 Conference coach of the year Lon Kruger found out just how dangerous the Bison are Thursday night when the Sooners became the second No. 5 seed to lose to a No. 12 this year. The Sooners missed three game-winning shots in the final 6 seconds of regulation and watched their tournament dream slip away 80-75 in overtime.
It's the second time this school year North Dakota State has surprised a Big 12 opponent on the fields of play. The NDSU football team upset 2012 Big 12 champion Kansas State in the season opener back in September.
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North Dakota State lost its only other tournament game in history to the Sooners' Big 12 rival Kansas back in 2009. The Bison secured their victory in the tournament this year behind 28 points from junior guard Lawrence Alexander, a product of Peoria, Ill. Alexander knocked down a 3-pointer to thie the game with 12 seconds remaining. He also made four free throws at the end of overtime to put the Sooners away.
Oklahoma senior Cameron Clark did his best to prevent the upset by making big shots to keep the Sooners in the game. He finished with 25 points, including seven of the Sooners' nine points in overtime. But North Dakota State forced the Sooners to play at its pace, a slower style the seventh highest scoring team in the nation is accustomed to and it frustrated the Sooners.
North Dakota State will play Saturday against the winner of the San Diego State-New Mexico State game
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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! Follow @KyleRingo