Friday as it has been for much of the season, Oklahoma’s big men led the way in helping its guards take control.
But against Cal State Bakersfield, it wasn’t Ryan Spangler that stretched out the defense and hit 3-pointers.
It was Dante Buford.
It wasn’t Khadeem Lattin that protected the rim and swatted away shots and making the Roadrunners think twice about driving the lane.
It was Akolda Manyang.
Manyang came up with a couple of big blocks and key rebounds as second-seeded Oklahoma survived 15th-seeded Bakersfield 82-68 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Buford has been an uneven contributor to the Sooners for most of his redshirt freshman season.