COLUMBIA, S.C. — Matt Freeman and Jack Salt grew up a five-minute drive apart and shared a basketball court many a time.
They will do again Sunday, only this time 8,277 miles from home.
Freeman and Salt grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, teammates on both the high school and club level, and Sunday, they will be opposing centers as Freeman’s Oklahoma plays Salt’s Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re pretty close,” said Freeman, a fourth-year junior who comes off the bench for OU and is averaging 3.2 points and 11.1 minutes per game.
“It’s awesome,” said Salt is a 6-foot-10 senior who has made 106 career starts for Virginia and is averaging 3.