OKLAHOMA CITY-- Buddy Hield scored 27 points to help No. 2 seed Oklahoma defeat No. 15 seed Cal State Bakersfield 82-68 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The senior guard made 8 pf 14 shots, including 3 of 6 3-pointers.
Isaiah Cousins scored 16 points and Jordan Woodard added 15 for the Sooners (26-7), who made 11 of 20 3-pointers and shot 50 percent overall.
Oklahoma enjoyed a homecourt advantage at Chesapeake Energy Arena, just a half hour's drive north of their Norman campus. The Sooners advanced to play No. 10 seed Virginia Commonwealth, which defeated Oregon State 75-67 earlier in the day.
Aly Ahmed had 16 points and eight rebounds, Kevin Mays had 14 points and eight rebounds and Dedrick Basile added 13 points for Bakersfield (24-9), the Western Athletic Conference Tournament champions.
The Sooners won, despite making just 15 of 25 free throws.
Oklahoma led for most of the second half, but Bakersfield cut Oklahoma's lead to four with just over four minutes to play. Woodard drained a 3-pointer about a minute later and Hield followed with a stepback three to push the Sooners' lead to 10.
Bakersfield ran out to an 8-0 lead and held Oklahoma scoreless for the first 2 1/2 minutes. The Sooners rallied, and within four minutes, they had a 12-10 lead and Bakersfield had called a timeout.
Woodard's 3-pointer pushed Oklahoma's edge to 33-27 and got the crowd into the game. Bakersfield coach Rod Barnes was called for a technical with 3:56 left in the first half, demonstrating the team's frustration with playing so hard, yet, barely hanging on. Hield made one of two free throws, and Dante Buford made one of two to push Oklahoma's lead to eight.
Ahmed made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to trim Oklahoma's lead to 41-34.
