Hield hits all 7 3s, No. 19 Oklahoma beats SE La

By foxsports
Published

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Buddy Hield hit all seven of his 3-point shots and scored 25 points as No. 19 Oklahoma coasted in its season opener, beating Southeastern Louisiana 78-53 Sunday.

Hield's first 3 came during a 16-0 run to begin the game.

Hield, who led Oklahoma with 90 3-pointers last season, set a career single-game high for 3s.

The senior guard set the Sooners' record for shooting percentage on 3s in a game. Michael Johnson (vs. Kansas State on Jan. 23, 1999) and Terry Evans (vs. UNLV on Jan. 9, 1989) shared the previous record of 6 of 6.

Isaiah Cousins added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Ryan Spangler had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma (1-0).

Andrew Guillory led Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) with 16 points. The Lions didn't score until their 14th possession, when Bret Barclay hit a pair of free throws.

The Lions missed their first 14 shots before Onochie Ochie scored with 11:47 left in the half. Ochie finished with 10 points.

After two straight NCAA tournament appearances, expectations at Oklahoma are the highest they've been since Blake Griffin and the Sooners made the round of eight in the 2009 NCAA tournament. With four returning starters off a team that finished 23-10 and was second in the Big 12, Oklahoma was ranked in the preseason AP poll for the first time in five years.

The Sooners ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in scoring last season at 81.9 points per game, reaching at least 80 points 18 times. They almost did so Sunday despite shooting 39 percent from the field.

TIP-INS

Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions, like many low-major programs, play on the road a lot at the start of the season. Nine of their first 10 games will be away from home, with only Tennessee Tech (on Nov. 26) making the trip to Hammond, Louisiana.. The Lions' only other nonconference regular-season home game will be Dec. 19 against Winthrop.

Oklahoma: Late Saturday, Oklahoma announced the NCAA had approved a waiver request that grants transfer forward TaShawn Thomas immediate eligibility after he played his first three seasons at Houston. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Thomas was a second-team all-American Athletic Conference selection last season as a junior, averaging 15.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game while shooting 59.1 percent. He started Sunday and scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

UP NEXT

Southeastern Louisiana will visit Western Illinois on Saturday.

Oklahoma plays at Creighton on Wednesday.