No. 3 Oklahoma (11-0) will head back to Norman with the Diamond Head Classic trophy in hand after a 83-71 victory over Harvard. Furthermore, the Sooners head into conference play undefeated for the first time since 2003-04.
Let's take a look at a few things Sooner fans can take away from the team’s tournament win in Honolulu.
The frontcourt can score beyond Ryan Spangler
Senior forward Ryan Spangler had a relatively quiet trip in Hawaii, averaging just seven points per game in the tournament. But scoring was not bare in the interior as the rest of the frontcourt stepped up.
Khadeem Lattin flashed his shooting range from 12 feet prior to the Diamond Head Classic, but the sophomore forward was on a roll throughout the tournament. Lattin’s best performance came against Hawai’i, posting a career-high 17 points while showing off his improved mid-range game and scoring in transition.
Forward Dante Buford was a welcomed surprise in the rotation. The redshirt freshmen had a breakout scoring performance in the tournament opener against Washington State. Buford scored 11 points, but the former four-star produced points in ways to electrify the Sooners. Just minutes after converting an And-1 basket, Buford followed a miss with a buzzer-beating putback dunk to end the first half. Buford has slowly increased his minutes in the rotation throughout the season and has given the coaching staff glimpses of the energy and scoring ability he can provide for the Sooners in the coming years.
The Sooners are battle-tested going into Big 12 play
Oklahoma won a pair of less-than-comfortable games en route to its tournament championship. The Sooners squeaked by the hometown Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in the semifinals and trailed by halftime against the Ivy League Harvard Crimson before securing the win in the tournament. Oklahoma will likely continue its familiarity with close games as the team heads into Big 12 Conference play. The Sooners should feel encouraged to walk away undefeated despite a few close calls this season.
Hield is as consistent as ever
The scoring prowess of senior guard Buddy Hield is well-documented by now, but the level of consistency to match his talent has further elevated his play. Hield shattered the Diamond Head Classic tournament scoring record with 86 points in three games. Hield scored a career-high 34 points on just 14 shots in the Sooners tournament championship game against Harvard.
Hield now averages nearly 25 points per game, good for fifth in the nation. The Bahamas native is the lone player in the nation averaging 20 points per game while hitting half his field goals and three-pointers and shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line.
Oklahoma will need to improve free throw shooting
The Sooners are one of the most potent teams in the country from the three-point line, but post rather pedestrian numbers from the charity stripe. The Sooners shoot just 71 percent from the free-throw line, ranking outside the Top 100 in that category. Against the Rainbow Warriors, the last 10 minutes turned into a free-throw contest as both teams entered the foul bonus early. Neither Hawai’i nor Oklahoma broke away as both shot 24-for-33 from the line.
Oklahoma has eight sub 75-percent free-throw games in 11 games. As the Sooners runs through the Big 12 gauntlet against its tough in-conference foes, the Sooners will need to secure its opportunities for free points to come out victorious in tight-knit games.
