Oregon vs. Oklahoma: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

The Oklahoma Sooners are headed to the Final Four for the first time in 14 years after an 80-68 win over the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the West Regional final Saturday, thanks to a 37-point performance by star senior Buddy Hield.

Hield shot 13-of-20 from the floor and made eight three-pointers in the victory, becoming the first player to have a 30-point game against a No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight or later since Syracuse Orange star Carmelo Anthony did so against the Texas Longhorns in 2003, per ESPN Stats & Info.

This will be the fifth appearance in the Final Four for Oklahoma, but it's the first time the team can celebrate via Twitter:

Hield's historic run also continued Saturday, as he became the first player since Stephen Curry in 2008 to score at least 100 points and make 15 three-pointers before the Final Four, per CBS Sports.

The Sooners had three players score in double figures. Point guard Isaiah Cousins took 12 shots and scored 11 points but had seven assists to go along with five rebounds. Junior guard Jordan Woodard had 13 points for Oklahoma.

Nine years after Sooners head coach Lon Kruger took the UNLV Runnin' Rebels to the Sweet 16 and lost to Oregon, he got his revenge with the Sooners on Saturday and is back in the Final Four for the first time in more than two decades, per USA Today's George Schroeder:

Elgin Cook's team-high 24 points led Oregon, but he was the only Ducks player who had a solid offensive night. The two other Oregon stars, Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks, scored a combined 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

Hield didn’t have to wait long for his long-range shooting abilities to come back after a 2-of-7 performance Thursday. He also didn’t mind showing off his unlimited range early in the game.

It was a fast start for Oklahoma, and notably a fast start for Hield, as the National Player of the Year candidate made three threes in the first five minutes, six seconds, spelling bad news for Oregon, per CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie:

Hield made his first four shots and, in the process, seemed as though he would take down Oregon by himself, per March Madness TV:

The Oregon defense tried to sway some momentum back in its favor. Most notably, Jordan Bell attempted to inject some life and passion into a Ducks team that didn’t have an answer for the Oklahoma offense. Bell took matters into his own hands with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half by meeting Oklahoma forward Dante Buford at the rim:

Despite Oregon’s best efforts defensively midway through the first half, Oklahoma’s ball movement was crisp. The Sooners assisted on 11 of their first 14 shots, and Cousins had six. The sixth was a pass to Hield for his fourth three-pointer with four minutes, 28 seconds left in the half.

Los Angeles Clippers All-Star and former No. 1 pick out of Oklahoma Blake Griffin was keeping an eye on his alma mater during the game:

Oregon didn’t get any offensive production from anyone outside of Cook in the first half. The Ducks’ senior forward scored 16 points in the first half, while the star tandem of Dorsey and Brooks combined to shoot 1-of-5.

Freelance journalist David Ubben noted that while OU’s offense was humming, the defense was doing just as well:

But all eyes were on Hield as he ended the first half the way he began it—with a long-range three-pointer, his fifth of the half, to give the Sooners an 18-point lead:

 NBC Sports' Raphielle Johnson could do nothing but laugh:

Even Oregon couldn’t believe what was happening and tried to nicely ask Oklahoma to stop making shots:

And just in case anyone near Oklahoma’s campus needed an estimate on how far it is to the Final Four in Houston, ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman had you covered:

Oklahoma continued to run its offense through Hield, and the senior couldn't miss. A couple of step-back jumpers put Hield at 26 points with over 11 minutes remaining as he continued his stellar scoring pace, per Oklahoma assistant athletic director Mike Houck:

Oregon tried to continue trimming the Oklahoma lead beyond the 12- to 15-point mark but couldn't get any further. Part of that was because Oklahoma's defense clogged the paint, and the other aspect was the Ducks didn't have someone who could take over the game like Hield, per Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman:

And CBS Sports' Gary Parrish thinks Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski won't be the only one feeling apologetic for Oregon:

In the end, that turned out to be the difference in why Oklahoma now has a spot in the Final Four. Oregon proved it could hang with the top programs, like Duke, on the biggest stage. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they ran into an offensive buzz saw named Buddy and had no answer for him.

Oklahoma is back in the Final Four for the first time since Kelvin Sampson took the Sooners there in 2002. They're also one win away from their first national title game appearance since 1988. Oklahoma has never won a national championship, but the team could finally break through as long as Hield continues this type of play.

The Sooners will meet either Kansas or Villanova on April 2.

Postgame Reaction

The Los Angeles Lakers had an off day Saturday, so a familiar face made his way to Anaheim to catch the action. Once Hield found out Kobe Bryant was there, he knew he had to play well, per ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy:

But in the grand scheme of things, Oklahoma's star senior was more happy he put his team two wins away from the program's first national championship.

"As a kid, you dream of having games like this," Hield said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I'm just happy that we all made it, and we've just got to finish it out."

Oregon head coach Dana Altman knew it was going to be a tough process trying to contain Hield, but once he got it going, it was near impossible in his mind, per Adam Zagoria of SNY:

Kruger took the Florida Gators to the Final Four in 1994, and he said it's more so for the players than it is for him.

"It's about seeing the feelings of satisfaction on the players' faces," Kruger said, per the AP. "They feel good about this right now, but they'll feel even better about it years from now. They've got a special, special spot."

And as for whom Hield wants to see in the Final Four, that may be a no-brainer, per Vecenie:

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.