Houston – Denzel Valentine knew exactly what Buddy Hield was going through on Saturday night.
Hield and his Oklahoma teammates were getting run off the floor by Villanova in the national semifinals, suffering a 44-point loss that is now the worst in Final Four history. And Hield was having a tough time, finishing 4-for-12 from the field with nine points.
When the Oklahoma senior finally got the chance to check his phone well after the final buzzer, the first message he saw was from Valentine.
“It means a lot,” Hield said on Sunday. “It just shows that it's more than basketball.