OU men’s basketball (13-14, 3-11 SEC) fell to Texas A&M (19-8, 9-5 SEC) 75-71 on Saturday in the second meeting between the teams this season, dropping both contests.

The loss came on a historic night at Lloyd Noble Center, where the 2015-16 men’s basketball team was honored for its Final Four run and former OU guard Buddy Hield saw his No. 24 retired and legacy immortalized.

“That whole team did so much for this program, building a foundation,” said sophomore guard Dayton Forsythe. “So it’s special getting to represent this university after them. Just want to say thank you to them. Congratulate Buddy. All the respect in the world.”

Hield joined elite company enshrined in the rafters, alongside Wayman Tisdale (No. 23, honored in 1997), Alvan Adams (No. 33, honored in 1998), Mookie Blaylock (No. 10, honored in 2001), Stacey King (No. 33, honored in 2008) and Blake Griffin (No. 23, honored in 2016). Hield’s name also sits by the 2016 Final Four banner, in which he was the heart of a team that made the run to Houston, including a Sweet 16 win over the then-No. 3 Aggies, where Hield posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

“No one would be more deserving,” former OU men’s basketball head coach Lon Kruger noted. “He’s a guy that stayed that fourth year and loved his teammates, and obviously, individually, it worked out for him. As a team, it worked out great for them, and his teammates really appreciated him.”

During his four seasons in Norman, Hield became the Big 12’s all-time leading scorer and cemented himself as the Sooners’ second greatest scorer trailing only Tisdale, who amassed 2,661 career points to Hield’s 2,291. Hield also earned multiple honors during the 2015-16 season, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy.

“I would never trade it for anything in the world,” Hield said. “When I was here these years made me who I am. Faith made me who I am, as a person. As a player you all know what I did, but I think I grew a lot as a person from the leadership from Coach Kruger.”

Former Athletics Director Joe Castiglione delivered remarks at halftime, highlighting Hield’s impact on the program. 

“We honor someone who made it about everybody else, his teammates, his coaches, his family, the fans, the university, our state, all of us,” Castiglione said, “Tonight, we honor one of the best players in Oklahoma basketball history.” 

Hield then appeared at the podium, where he was met with a standing ovation and stadium wide chants of “Buddy, Buddy,” before delivering a speech of his own and watching his number ascend into the rafters.

On the court, head coach Porter Moser and company didn’t fare as well, with the team picking up a loss that put the nail in the coffin on any lingering thoughts of a tournament appearance. Last season, Texas earned an NCAA tournament berth at 19-15 (6-12 SEC) as the lowest record of any Power-4 team to make the 68 team field but fell in the First Four. OU has not appeared in any of ESPN’s bracket projections this season, all but confirming that their hopes of making the big dance faded long ago barring an SEC Tournament Championship automatic bid.

“Porter does such a good job …  just heartbreaking to see,” Kruger said ahead of Saturday’s game. “Those games go into the last stages, and that’s the difference between a really, really terrific year. I mean, not far from that, just four or five games swinging the other way.”

Next, OU faces Auburn (15-12, 6-8 SEC) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center on ESPNU.

 This story was edited by Laurie Jones.

Commenting policy: We value civility and do not tolerate the spreading of misinformation or degrading posts on topics like race, religion or culture. We monitor our comment sections and will delete such when necessary.

Guest columns: Focus on issues, not personalities, in fewer than 500 words. Submissions are published by the editor based on timeliness, relevance and civility after editing for accuracy and style. To submit,
visit our form.