NCAA Tournament: OU vs. Cal State Bakersfield Game Notes

The last time the Sooners were on the floor, West Virginia held Buddy Hield in check and Oklahoma lost. 

Cal State Bakersfield hopes to borrow some of the same plans to shock the Sooners in the first round tomorrow.

"You can't score without the ball, and I think West Virginia did a great job of denying him the basketball, face guarding him a lot,” said Bakersfield Head Coach Rod Barnes. “I think they gave him a lot of looks. Everybody was focused in on him. Obviously, you know, it helped them win the game.”

Hield says if the Roadrunners want to focus on him then “so be it.”

“We've been practicing the past couple days; we have a lot of things we can do,” explained Hield. “Let them do that, and let's see what happens."

The Sooners are 14 point favorites over the Roadrunners and are a trendy pick to make the final four. But Oklahoma's players say they know better than to look ahead.

"Coach, he's been preaching to us that we're 0-and-0, records don't matter,” said Sooner guard Jordan Woodard. “We have to take it one game at a time. He hasn't said anything about the next round at all. Us as a team, we just have been concentrating on this first game, so I like where our mindset is. Playing in Oklahoma City is going to be good for us, so we just have to use it all to our advantage and take it one game at a time."

OU forward Ryan Spangler added, "Everyone wants to look to who's going to get to the Final Four when the first game hasn't even been played yet. I think the experience on this team will help us take one game at a time." 

Bakersfield center Aly Ahmed told reporters today the Sooners are quote "a good team, but not great." That comment made its way around the Sooner locker room this afternoon, and some of Oklahoma's players may have a little extra motivation tomorrow afternoon.