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

For the first time since 2009, the Oklahoma Sooners are headed to the Sweet 16. They defeated the Dayton Flyers, 72-66, Sunday in the third round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.

The victory is also a landmark for head coach Lon Kruger, who became the first coach in NCAA history to take four different schools to the regional semifinals, per Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World:

Former Sooners star Blake Griffin reveled in the win:

Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard might have combined to shoot 7-of-22, but their 31 points were big in a game that really slowed down after both teams got off to hot starts.

Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas also played big roles. They combined to nearly out-rebound Dayton all by themselves. Their 21 boards were just two short of the Flyers' total output.

In Oklahoma's win over Albany in the second round, the Sooners were unable to truly put the Great Danes away until the last few minutes.

Albany never once led in the game, but it was also never so far out of it that a comeback seemed impossible. While the Sooners ultimately won 69-60, the victory was far from convincing.

After the game, Kruger intimated that the team's recent failures in March might have made his players a little too tight.

"Guys certainly were aware that we had lost in the first round the last two years," Kruger said, per Reuters. "Games are hard to win in a tournament. Guys all wanted to get a tournament win under their belt. That was huge."

In the first half against Dayton, the same problem afflicted Oklahoma.

The Sooners rolled out to an early 12-point lead, 29-17, 11.5 minutes into the game. They owned such a big advantage largely because of their work behind the arc.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello was particularly surprised by Oklahoma's hot shooting given the team isn't known as an offensive juggernaut:

From that point forward for the rest of the half, though, the shots stopped falling for OU. That coincided with 15 unanswered points from Dayton that saw the Flyers overturn the deficit and grab a three-point edge with 2:22 until halftime:

Two free throws from Ryan Spangler right before the half put Oklahoma back on top, 34-32. However, Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel felt the Flyers were probably feeling better about how the first 20 minutes unfolded:

Scoochie Smith was the game's leading scorer through the first half. The Dayton guard went 3-of-5 from the field and made both of his three-point attempts en route to 10 points.

Oklahoma's Frank Booker was right behind him with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep.

The Sooners maintained their lead for the first five minutes of the second half, but a three from Darrell Davis put Dayton ahead 43-40, and the Flyers owned the advantage for much of the final frame.

ESPN Stats & Info noted a somewhat unsustainable trend for them, though:

Relying so heavily on the three ball isn't necessarily a bad strategy, but it's a tactic in which things can easily go wrong. And sooner or later, you have to establish some sort of presence inside. The Flyers never did, and they paid dearly for it.

Dayton's momentum slowly started fading away around the 10-minute mark, at which point they held seven-point edge, 56-49.

Oklahoma then went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a Darrell Davis turnover for the Flyers and subsequent Hield layup on the fast break.

Dayton's scoring drought continued for over nine minutes, during which the Flyers went 0-of-7 from the field. Credit the Oklahoma defense, as well, for forcing five turnovers.

A bucket from Smith got the Flyers back to within four points, 62-58, with 1:19 remaining, and an immediate steal by Davis nearly closed the deficit to two points.

However, Hield swatted Davis' layup attempt away in what USA Today's Dan Wolken felt was the play of the game:

Dayton wouldn't get any closer to taking the lead as Oklahoma secured the win at the foul line.

The Sooners will get Michigan State in the Sweet 16. The Spartans upset the second-seeded Virginia Cavaliers earlier in the day. Tom Izzo's team might be a No. 7 seed, but it will be a handful for OU in the Sweet 16.

Nullifying Branden Dawson and Travis Trice, who are averaging 14.5 and 19 points, respectively, in the tournament will be one of Kruger's biggest tactical objectives.