Written by Brian Pohl
Columbia, SC- Day two of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament saw the 9th seed Oklahoma Sooners route the 8th seed Ole Miss Rebels 95-72 in the first matchup of the day from Columbia, South Carolina.
Ole Miss was outmatched from the opening tip, as the Sooners came out firing with a 12-0 run that built the foundation for the rest of the game for Oklahoma head coach Lon Krueger’s squad.
The Sooners continued to build off of that early run, going to halftime leading the Rebels 50-33 shooting a strong 59 percent from the field in the first half.
Leading the way for Oklahoma in the first half was senior Rashard Odomes, who went to the locker room with 14 points on six of seven shots. The Sooners were really able to do whatever they wanted on offense in the first half, leading by as much as 22 before going to the half up 17.
Ole Miss tried to make a run to start the second half, but the defensive struggles for the Rebels continued and the Sooners were able to match shot for shot before building out their lead and winning by a final score of 95-72.
Odomes continued his hot scoring, finishing with 20 points as one of two Sooners players to reach that mark. The other 20-point scorer was senior guard Christian James, who knocked down four three-pointers in the game.
The story of the game was Oklahoma’s offensive performance, as the Sooners shot 57 percent for the game, and 47 percent from behind the arc, as the boys from Norman, Oklahoma put on an offensive clinic throughout the game, only letting up once the game was out of reach in the final seconds to let the clock run out.
The Sooners were also able to build a cushion by getting to the line way more than Ole Miss, making 21 of their 26 attempts compared to the Rebels, who only took four in the game. It was really an impressive overall showing by Oklahoma, who will try and use the momentum from this game to go on a deep run in the tournament.
A run won’t be easy, however, as with the win Oklahoma will move on to the second-round and take on the winner of the #1 seed Virginia Cavaliers and #16 Gardner-Webb, who face off later today.
The second-round matchup will take place Sunday, March 24th from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
