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

The No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners survived a stiff challenge from the 10th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth Rams, coming away with an 85-81 win Sunday inside Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament.  

Buddy Hield scored 29 second-half points, finishing with 36 in all. The senior guard struggled mightily early in the game but stepped up as his team was fighting off the Rams' comeback attempt. Tulsa World's Guerin Emig highlighted how much he carried the Sooners offensively:

CBS Sports' Seth Davis still questioned whether OU's reliance on Hield might cause the team trouble down the road:

Senior guard Melvin Johnson led VCU with 23 points and three rebounds in a losing effort, while junior guard JeQuan Lewis finished an assist short of a double-double, scoring 22 points and dishing out nine dimes.

The story of the first half was how much Oklahoma thrived in spite of Hield. He made only two of his eight field-goal attempts and shot 1-of-6 from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes of the game. Hield managed to find other ways to help his team, such as this assist to senior forward Ryan Spangler to put the Sooners up 11-5 at the 15:47 mark of the half:

Senior guard Isaiah Cousins led OU with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while junior guard Jordan Woodard chipped in 10 points.

While Hield's sluggish start didn't result in Oklahoma's trailing at the half, The Vertical's Bobby Marks argued it's one of the issues possibly holding back his potential at the next level:

Playing from behind, VCU made sure the deficit didn't grow too big early. Sophomore forward Michael Gilmore threw down a two-handed dunk with 10:55 left in the first half after the Sooners jumped ahead by 12:

Oklahoma continued to inch ahead by hammering the Rams inside. ESPN Stats & Info showed much of the the team's offense was coming in the paint:

For Emig, this was a side of the Sooners not seen much during the 2015-16 season:

While head coach Will Wade's version of the vaunted "havoc" defense did little to stop Oklahoma from scoring in the first half, it started paying major dividends in the second. VCU's high-pressure style lends itself to quick runs as a result of the turnovers and short possessions it can create.

The Rams enjoyed one such run, which resulted in their 62-61 lead with 9:56 remaining in the game. A thunderous dunk from junior forward Mo Alie-Cox illustrated how Virginia Commonwealth was a different team to open the second half:

VCU's aggressive approach leaves the team prone to momentum swings in the other direction, though, and that's what happened as Oklahoma stormed back into the game. The Sooners went on an 11-2 run that spanned nearly three minutes, taking a 77-69 lead with 4:02 left. Sophomore forward Khadeem Lattin contributed during the run, throwing down an alley-oop:

The Rams never regained the lead. Three times they trimmed the gap to three points inside the final four minutes, but Oklahoma managed to keep its opponent at bay.

As a result, the Sooners are in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row, and they'll meet either Texas A&M or Northern Iowa.

OU is quite familiar with the Aggies from their time together in the Big 12. According to Sports-Reference.com, the two schools have played 41 times, with Oklahoma owning a 31-10 edge. Despite that historic dominance, Oklahoma could have its hands full against A&M, which possesses one of the best defenses in the country.

Northern Iowa wouldn't be a pushover either. According to KenPom.com, the Panthers rank 346th in adjusted tempo, making them the second-slowest team remaining in the tournament. They could suffocate Hield and give Oklahoma major headaches in the next round should the schools meet.

Postgame Reaction

VCU junior guard Doug Brooks described the futility of trying to defend Hield at times, per Emig:

"He's got great, great focus at that moment when a shot needs to be made or a play needs to be made," OU head coach Lon Kruger said of his star player, per Joey Helmer of 247Sports' OUInsider.

"It was a win-win situation," said Johnson of how the Rams came into the game as underdogs, per Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press (via the Telegraph in Macon, Georgia). "Everyone pretty much counted us out, so our backs were against the wall, and when your back is against the wall, all you've got to do is fight."

"We're tough, we're gritty. We fight," Wade said. "We fight, fight, fight, fight, fight. We just didn't have enough."

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