OU wins a spot in the Sweet Sixteen (Photo: Oklahoman)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dayton fought and clawed and made it difficult for Oklahoma.
But the Sooners are heading to the Sweet 16.
Third-seeded Oklahoma scrapped back from a nine-point, second-half deficit to beat the 11th-seeded Flyers 72-66 on Sunday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Sooners (24-10) will play Michigan State on Friday in Syracuse, N.Y., in the East Regional semifinal.
Oklahoma hasn’t been to the second weekend of the tournament since their Elite Eight run in 2009.
The Sooners trailed by seven, 56-49, with just more than 10 minutes remaining in the game when Oklahoma turned up the pressure defensively.
It held Dayton without a point for more than nine minutes during a 13-0 run.
Oklahoma scored on six of seven possessions after falling behind 49-40 after scoring on one of nine before that stretch.