WATCH: When 76ers star Buddy Hield almost won the game for Oklahoma with a half-court 3-pointer after the buzzer vs. West Virginia in 2016

On Mar. 11, 2016, the Oklahoma Sooners, led by senior Buddy Hield, took on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. In the last 14 seconds of the second half, Jaysean Paige sank a jumper, giving the Mountaineers a 69-67 lead over Oklahoma.

Just when it seemed like another loss was imminent for the Sooners, Buddy Hield made a three-pointer from the half-court in an apparent win. Oklahoma's bench erupted in joy as the West Virginia players looked around in disbelief.

8 years ago, Buddy Hield made a half court shot after the buzzer byu/maplebeagle inCollegeBasketball

Unfortunately for the Sooners, a review of the shot showed that the ball left Buddy Hield's hand a fraction of a second late. It was dismissed and the Mountaineers won the game, advancing to the Tournament finals. There, they fell short, losing 71-81 to the Kansas Jayhawks in the title game.

After the game, Hield tweeted:

"Crazy game even tho we lost never experience nothing like that before. Much respect to West Virginia #OnToTheNext #OUDNA"

West Virginia's Jevon Carter, the leading scorer of the night with a season-best 26 points said in a post-game locker room interview:

"It was like a movie. They have the camera on the main character the whole time. Championship game, it's going to be a tough game, main character makes the last shot. So when he made that I was like, 'Is this possible?'

"(But) when I saw the replay I was like, 'Nah, that didn't count.' They're going to give this game to us."

Buddy Hield's historic senior season almost didn't happen

Buddy Hield wrapped his junior season in 2015, averaging 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from the floor. The guard led the Sooners to a 24–11 record and a Sweet 16 berth.

He was named Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year and had a shot at the 2015 NBA Draft. However, Oklahoma's coach Lon Kruger and his staff convinced him to stay based on the scouts' evaluations.

21 of the 30 NBA teams believed that Hield was a second-round pick. This could lead to uncertainties as second-round picks do not receive guaranteed contracts. However, Buddy Hield believed he had a shot.

"He'd come back each day with a different argument," OU assistant coach Chris Crutchfield said (via bleacherreport.com). "He's stubborn, now. He's real stubborn."

When Hield still did not believe them about the scouts' evaluation, Crutchfield ended up reading the reports to him:

"Need to be able to attack the basket more. Need to be able to finish. Need to improve on defense. Gotta improve ball-handling skills. Gotta improve decision-making."

After this, he returned for his senior season, where he averaged 25.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals. From a projected second-round pick, Buddy Hield went No. 6 overall in the 2016 NBA draft to the New Orleans Pelicans.