Oregon vs. Oklahoma State: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

In one of the most exciting round of 64 games from the 2015 NCAA tournament, Oregon held on to knock off Oklahoma State by a final of 79-73.   

The fact this game was as close as it was shouldn't have been a surprise. Per ESPN Stats & Info, projection metrics had this as the closest matchup of any in the second round:

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Joseph Young was an unstoppable machine late in the first half, giving Oregon a 43-39 lead at the break by scoring 15 consecutive points for the team, per Sports Illustrated College Hoops:

Young didn't slow down much in the second half, finishing with 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting. 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Young's point total also put him in exclusive company among Oregon players in the NCAA tournament:

In many ways, Young seemed to take the advice of head coach Dana Altman before the tournament started. 

Per Tyson Alger of The Oregonian, Altman's message was simple to his young roster:

"

'I want you to get really selfish,' Altman said. 'I want you to have this feeling all the time.'

...

'I wanted them to understand how unusual and how special this was. I wanted them to soak it in and enjoy it.'

"

The Ducks weren't totally selfish, finishing with 11 assists on 29 field goals made.  

Elgin Cook helped support Young, adding 18 points with five rebounds and three steals. Dillon Brooks chipped in with 17 points. 

Per Alger, Cook actually showed some surprising range with his shot in this game, as well:

Going back to Altman for a second, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, his tournament resume is putting him on the list of most underrated coaches in the country. 

As you would expect from a back-and-forth contest, there were plenty of highlights to go around. 

On the Oklahoma State side, Michael Cobbins had one of the most impressive drive-and-dunk plays of the entire tournament. 

The Cowboys had a more balanced offensive attack than the Ducks, getting double-digit scoring efforts from four different players, led by 18 points by Le'Bryan Nash.  

It was a bittersweet game for Nash, who finally got to the NCAA tournament in his senior season before fouling out in the final seconds, per Oklahoma State's Men's Basketball on Twitter:

This was a game of runs, mostly from Oklahoma State. Whenever Oregon appeared to be pulling away, the Cowboys would hit a couple three-pointers in a row to pull within one or two points. 

Oklahoma State just needed one more run in the final minute that never came. The Cowboys ended the year on a poor note, losing seven of their last eight games. 

For the Ducks, this win puts them in the round of 32 awaiting the winner of Wisconsin-Coastal Carolina. 

If the assumption is Wisconsin wins that game, the Ducks will need to shoot as well as they did tonight, hitting 54.7 percent of their shots, if they want to play in the Sweet 16.