Thursday, March 13, 2014 by OU Daily

• Thursday, March 13, 2014

SPORTS

Julia Nelson, sports editor Joe Mussatto, assistant editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

men’s basketball

Sooners hope to build upon successful season Men’s Basketball Beat Reporter

jacqueline eby/the daily

Sophomore forward Ryan Spangler slam dunks against West Virginia on March 5 at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners beat the Mountaineers 72-62. OU hopes to build off a second place conference finish this season with a good showing at the Big 12 tournament.

have a long road ahead of us, and the most important thing right now is winning a conference championship. We’ve all learned from our mistakes earlier in the season, and we’re confident that we can do some great things in the tournament.” The Sooners have yet to win a Big 12 tournament game under Kruger and hope to change that in their upcoming matchup Thursday. The Sooners have swept both Baylor and TCU this season and hope to have the same success again. The Sooners will be depending heavily on Buddy Hi e l d , w h o h a s s c o re d in double figures in 29 of 31 games. The Freeport, Bahamas native has emerged as the Sooners top scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game and one of the leagues best three point shooters, ranking fourth in the Big 12 in threepoint field goal percentage. Hield was excited about

earning second team honors but he understands that there is still work to be done if they want to win a conference title. “It was great to receive the second team honors,” Hield said. “I’m really happy for everyone, especially coach Kruger, but at the end of the day, it’s win or go home. We still have to continue working hard so that we can win a conference title.” Playing in his first season as a Sooner, Ryan Spangler instantly became a key factor for the Sooners. Spangler led the Big 12 in rebounds per game with 9.4 and ranked second in the Big 12 with 10 double-doubles. The Sooners will be depending on his toughness and non-stop hustle on the court as they prepare to make a run in the Big 12 tournament. “We’ve been playing really well in our last five games, but we’re going to have to work

harder if we want to make it to the championship game,” Spangler said. “All of these teams are playing to win and we feel confident that we can win the title, but it’s definitely not going to be easy.”

Oklahoma will compete in its last regular season meet in Arkansas this weekend. After an impressive weekend featuring victories over No. 22 Arizona State, No. 13 Minnesota, TWU and Michigan State, the Sooners will wrap up their season against No. 16 Arkansas. The Razorbacks feature multiple threats on their team, including the No. 2 overall gymnast in the country — Katherine Grable. As the regular season comes to an end and post-season is right around the corner, two Sooners have led the team — sophomore Haley Scaman and senior Taylor Spears. They each had incredible meets this past weekend, and the momentum that created will help the team as they compete against Arkansas. Spears was critical in contributing to Oklahoma’s strong performance this weekend, posting career-high numbers both at Senior Night and on the road at TWU. On Friday night at her last home meet at Lloyd Noble Center, Spears posted her career and meet-best 9.975 on beam, receiving a 10.0 from one judge. Two days later, Spears received another 9.975 (receiving a 10 from one judge as well) on bars, another career-high. Taylor was awarded the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week after her performances, making this her ninth time to receive this award in her career at OU. “I finally realized this is the last go around. It was emotional, but at the same time, I was enjoying every last moment of it. I want to finish strong. I have seen improvements in myself every year,” Spears said. Sophomore Haley Scaman had a record setting meet against Arizona State where she posted her second perfect 10 on the floor this season. Scaman is the first Sooner to earn more than one 10 in the same season and the first to ever score multiple perfect 10’s on floor in Oklahoma history. Not only did Scaman post a 10 on floor she received a 9.975 on Friday for her performance on bars, receiving a 10 from one judge. Jennifer Rogers, jennifer.rogers-1@ou.edu

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OU competes in last regular-season meet Jennifer Rogers

OU can win fist Big 12 tournament game under Kruger The No. 17 Oklahoma m e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l t e a m wrapped up a successful season with a 30-point blowout victory over the TCU Horned Frogs, which ended its season with a 23-8 record and secured it sole possession of second place in the Big 12 with a conference record of 12-6. The 23 regular season wins are tied for fourth most in school history, and the Sooners will hope to add to that total, as they prepare for their Big 12 quarterfinals matchup against No. 7 seed Baylor or No. 10 seed TCU at tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. While the Sooners prepare to play for the Big 12 title, their impressive play on the court throughout the season was recognized, as five Sooners, including head coach Lon Kruger, earned Big 12. Sophomore guard Buddy Hield and senior forward Cameron Clark were named to the All-Big 12 second and third teams, sophomore forward Ryan Spangler earned honorable mention allleague acclaim, while senior forward Tyler Neal was named co-sixth man of the year. Head coach Lon Kruger was also recognized for the outstanding job that he’s done this season, earning AP Big 12 Coach of the Year. Kruger was ecstatic about being named Big 12 Coach of the Year, however, his focus remains on the task at hand and that’s winning a Big 12 title. “These awards are a direct reflection of how well our guys have played this season,” Kruger said. “We’ve come a long way from the beginning of the season, and our guys have worked hard, and its good to see them being recognized for that hard work. However, we still

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