For Sooner Nation, the afternoon of March 20 was anything but quiet. Naismith Trophy finalist and beloved senior guard Buddy Hield played his last game of college ball in Oklahoma in front of a crimson-clad crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The second-seeded Sooners, coming off an 82-68 victory over CSU Bakersfield in the first round of the tournament, now faced 10 seed VCU to fight for a coveted spot in the Sweet 16. The Sooners emerged victorious, beating VCU 85-81.

OU started the same faithful five that have started all season: Khadeem Lattin, Ryan Spangler, Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard, and Buddy Hield. Lattin and Cousins were the first to score for the Sooners. Hield had a quiet first half, only scoring seven of the team's 44. VCU trailed by 13 at the break. Woodard and Cousins led the Sooners in scoring going into the second half. Trouble developed after Cousins and Lattin both picked up their third fouls within seconds of each other and both headed to the bench. VCU took the lead 65-63 as Hield began to ignite. In the next two minutes, Buddy made shot after shot, scoring eight points to put the Sooners back into the lead. VCU put up an impressive fight with Melvin Johnson scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second half, but ultimately the Sooners prevailed. Hield finished the game with 36 points, marking his 11th game this season with 30+ points, and becoming the highest scorer so far in the 2016 tournament. VCU Coach Will Wade summarized Hield's abilities, stating simply "Best player I've seen in college basketball."

The Sooners will advance to the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, CA to face Texas A&M on Thursday night. A&M accomplished quite a feat in their second round game against Northern Iowa, scoring 12 points in 35 seconds to tie the game and ultimately win 92-88 in overtime. It was the biggest comeback in the history of college basketball. Sophomore guard Alex Caruso summed it up, saying "We weren't ready to be done." In this matchup of second-half heroes, who will hang on to advance to the Elite Eight? Tune in to TBS this Thursday, March 24 to find out. Tip-off is at 6:37pm CT.