Oklahoma Sooners Bounced By Iowa State Cyclones 65-67 In Big XII Semifinal

With one ticket punched to the Big XII Championship game, the night cap got underway a little late as the Iowa State Cyclones found themselves in an eerily similar situation. Down 19-8 at the 10:02 mark in the first half, Fred Hoiberg opted to let play continue. The decision worked out well as the Cyclones battled back to even the score 29-29 at the break.

From that point on, it appeared as though the Oklahoma Sooners were the ones in trouble. That was until Lon Kruger took up an issue with the officials lighting a fire under his squad. An attack mentality was reborn while Buddy Hield and the rest of the crew quickly found themselves in the bonus once again knotting the game up, this time at 52-52

Coming down to the wire, Georges Niang missed a crucial free throw with nine second left in the second half. The miss allowed the Sooners one more opportunity to either send the game into over time or end it with a 3-pointer. With the clock winding down, Jordan Woodard penetrated into the lane. Collecting two Iowa State defenders in the process, Woodard recognized a teammate wide open underneath the basket. Dishing the rock to Ryan Spangler, it appeared that the game would go into overtime. Unfortunately, the junior forward misjudged the shot.

That's as rough as it gets. #Sooners #Cyclones #Big12Tournament https://t.co/YyBaOQ6iV0

— Andrew Carter (@Andrew__Carter) March 14, 2015

Jameel McKay got a hand on the rebound wrecking any second chance opportunity for Oklahoma. That's all she wrote as the Sooners were bounced from the tournament 65-67. OU now awaits their fate in the NCAA Tournament with Selection Sunday just around the corner.

Top Performers

Oklahoma Sooners

Buddy Hield - 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists

TaShawn Thomas - 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Iowa State Cyclones

Georges Niang - 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

Jameel McKay - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks