Hield Came Close to Duplicating Lovellette's One-and-Only Final Four Feat

Oklahoma's Buddy Hield, the nation's runner-up in scoring with 25.4 points per game, came close to duplicating one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA Tournament history. In 1951-52, Clyde Lovellette of champion Kansas became the only player to lead the nation in scoring average (28.4 ppg) while competing for a squad reaching the NCAA tourney title game. Final Four luminaries averaging more than 30 ppg include Elvin Hayes (36.8/Houston '68), Oscar Robertson (33.7/Cincinnati '60 and 32.6/Cincinnati '59), Rick Mount (33.3/Purdue '69), Elgin Baylor (32.5/Seattle '58), Bill Bradley (30.5/Princeton '65) and Len Chappell (30.1/Wake Forest '62).

Lovellette, an 11-year NBA center who passed away earlier this year, served as sheriff of Vigo County in his native Indiana (noted for raid on Terre Haute brothels). OU fans would be content with Hield raiding the Final Four by joining Lovellette as the only other player cracking the 30-point plateau in the national semifinals and championship contest in the same season (33 against both Santa Clara and St. John's).

Hield, sharing national player of the year awards with Michigan State's Denzil Valentine, is the first Final Four player since Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott to average in excess of 25 ppg. Only two other Final Four players notched higher scoring averages than Hield since the playoff field expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975 - Larry Bird (28.6 ppg for Indiana State '79 and Glen Rice (25.6 for Michigan '89). Following is a list of individuals in the last 26 years amassing the highest scoring average from a Final Four club since Scott's mark of 27.7 ppg in 1989-90:

Season Top Scorer Among Final Four Teams School Average
1990-91 Larry Johnson UNLV 22.7 ppg
1991-92 Christian Laettner Duke 21.5 ppg
1992-93 Jamal Mashburn Kentucky 21.0 ppg
1993-94 Khalid Reeves Arizona 24.2 ppg
1994-95 Bryant Reeves Oklahoma State 21.5 ppg
1995-96 John Wallace Syracuse 22.2 ppg
1996-97 Antawn Jamison North Carolina 19.1 ppg
1997-98 Antawn Jamison North Carolina 22.2 ppg
1998-99 Richard Hamilton Connecticut 21.5 ppg
1999-00 Morris Peterson Michigan State 16.8 ppg
2000-01 Jay Williams Duke 21.6 ppg
2001-02 Juan Dixon Maryland 20.4 ppg
2002-03 Carmelo Anthony Syracuse 22.2 ppg
2003-04 Ben Gordon Connecticut 18.5 ppg
2004-05 Sean May North Carolina 17.5 ppg
2005-06 Glen Davis Louisiana State 18.6 ppg
2006-07 Arron Affalo UCLA 16.9 ppg
2007-08 Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina 22.6 ppg
2008-09 Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina 20.7 ppg
2009-10 Jon Scheyer Duke 18.2 ppg
2010-11 Kemba Walker Connecticut 23.5 ppg
2011-12 Thomas Robinson Kansas 17.7 ppg
2012-13 Russ Smith Louisville 18.7 ppg
2013-14 Shabazz Napier Connecticut 18.0 ppg
2014-15 Frank Kaminsky Wisconsin 18.8 ppg
2015-16 Buddy Hield Oklahoma 25.4 ppg