Baylor vs. Oklahoma: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins helped No. 6 Oklahoma hang on and defeat No. 19 Baylor, 73-71, on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Sooners' senior night was almost disastrous, as they squandered a 24-point second-half lead and trailed Baylor by one with three minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the game. 

A jumper from Cousins and four points from Hield in the final few minutes helped Oklahoma get back on top and stay there. Hield led all scorers with 23 points on the night, while Cousins chipped in 10.

Tuesday night's game, however, looked like it was over in the first 10 minutes.

Baylor scored the first two points of the night, but the wheels quickly fell off from there, as Oklahoma went on a 26-1 run to take a 23-point lead midway through the first. Hield paced the Sooners with half of the team's points during that run. 

SoonerScoop's Joe DuVall did some quick math after Hield's and Oklahoma's stellar start:

With the game falling on Super Tuesday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller was ready to call it:

The Sooners made it look all too easy, via ESPN:  

Baylor's zone defense was unable to keep up with Hield and the quick Oklahoma offense. Oklahoma easily created open looks, which helped it build that large lead as Baylor struggled to shoot 30 percent from the field. 

At halftime, the Bears were down 21, but they managed to take advantage of Oklahoma's complacency to whittle down the deficit in the second half. An 11-0 run brought the Bears within 13, and the Sooners' lead shrunk to as few as 10 with just under eight minutes to play. 

With six minutes to go, it became an eight-point deficit, the first time Baylor was within single digits of Oklahoma since the game was at 12-3 in the first half. 

The Bears simply played harder than the Sooners in the second half, and they were rewarded for their high intensity. Three straight turnovers gave Baylor some easy buckets, and with 5:20 to go, the Sooners' lead was down to five.

Oklahoma's five turnovers in a three-minute span brought Baylor within three with five minutes to go. A Rico Gathers layup brought it to one with around 4:35 left.

Baylor grabbed its first lead since 2-0 thanks to an Al Freeman layup at 68-67 with just under four minutes left as it capped off a 17-2 run. From the 14:45 mark to Freeman's layup, Baylor outscored Oklahoma 34-9.

Not many teams could have done what Baylor did, especially on the road, and Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman took notice:

While it's a win, it's an uneasy one for Oklahoma, who has struggled lately. Entering Tuesday, the Sooners lost four of their last seven games, and their second-half performance probably won't calm any uneasy feelings headed toward the postseason. 

If it wants any chance of attaining March Madness success, whether it be in the Big 12 or NCAA tournament, Oklahoma has to find a way to kill off teams when given the chance. The Sooners had an enormous opportunity on Tuesday, and they almost let it slip.

It was a gutsy road effort from Baylor, who made something out of nothing. The contest seemed like it was over after the first half. But the resolve of the Bears showed, and they made it a game. That's a huge intangible teams need come March and April.

If Baylor is able to put together a complete 40-minute effort, it could surprise some people and wreck their brackets this year.

Postgame Reaction

For Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger, it's still a quality win over a tough opponent regardless of how close the Sooners came to collapsing.

He couldn't come up with an explanation for the second half, per Joe Buettner of the Dallas Morning News:

Kruger and the Sooners need to come up with an explanation of what happened soon or their season isn't going to end the way they want. 

With one of the nation's best players leading the backcourt in Hield, the Sooners have the pieces needed to make a deep postseason run. However, their play has drastically worsened since January. They'll have to dig deep in order to pick things back up and get where they want to be. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.