Hield Named Big 12 Player Of The Week, Sooners Remain No. 2 In AP Poll

Buddy Hield was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the third time this season following his performances against Kansas and Kansas State.

In the two Big 12 matchups last week, Hield averaged 38.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block. The Bahamas native shot .649 (24-37) from the field, .609 (14-23) from long distance and .882 (14-17) from the foul line for the No. 2 Sooners (13-1, 2-1 Big 12).

On the road against Kansas, Hield registered a career-high 46 points while adding eight rebounds and seven assists in a school-record 54 minutes. He shot 13-23 from the field, 8-15 from 3-point range and 12-14 from the foul line in the three-overtime contest. Hield’s 46 points tied for the sixth-highest total in OU history and were the most by an OU player since Brent Price had a Lloyd Noble Center-record 56 against Loyola Marymount in the 1990-91 season. The point total also tied as the most by an NCAA Division I player this year.

On Saturday, the senior posted 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots against the Wildcats. He shot 11-14 from the field, 6-8 from downtown and 3-3 from the charity stripe.

Hield has scored at least 20 points in eight consecutive contests, becoming the first Sooner to do so since Nate Erdmann during the 1996-97 season. Hield has registered at least 30 points in six games this season, including five such games in the last eight contests. The rest of the Big 12 has combined for six individual 30-point outings on the year. Hield joins Blake Griffin (2008-09) as the only Sooner with six or more 30-point games in the last 20 years (Griffin had six in 35 games in 2008-09).

With his two performances last week, Hield moved into eighth place on the school’s all-time scoring chart with 1,739 career points (passed Alvan Adams [1,707] last Monday). He also stands in second place with 255 career 3-pointers, which is just five shy of breaking the school record held by Terry Evans (259).

Hield and the Sooners get back to action Wednesday in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-6, 1-2 Big 12) at 8 p.m. CT.  OU has won five straight in the overall series, including the last two trips to Stillwater. Overall, Oklahoma owns a 134-95 advantage over its in-state foe.