Sooners start weekend strong, come up short

The Oklahoma men's basketball team fell to North Carolina, 72-60, after advancing to the Elite Eight by beating Syracuse.

The Sooners (30-6) made only two three-pointers Sunday, seven less than they made in Friday's win over Syracuse in Memphis, Tenn. Oklahoma defeated the Orange in the Regional Semi-finals, 84-71.

Blake Griffin scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win over Syracuse. Griffin averaged more than 30 points and 15 rebounds entering the Syracuse game, but it was the play of Tony Crocker that gave the Sooners an extra lift.

Crocker scored a career-high 28 points on 6-11 shooting from three-point range.

"It makes our job so much easier when he's playing like he did today," Griffin said after the game. "They had to respect him all game long because he was hitting shots all game long. It takes our team to another level when he plays like he did today."

Crocker's hot hand did not carry over to Sunday. He scored only four points, shooting 0-5 from beyond the arc in the loss to North Carolina (32-4).

Griffin, on the other hand, had another quality game. Griffin netted 23 points and brought down 16 rebounds. The solo performance wasn't enough to stop a North Carolina team that proved to be too strong.

Ty Lawson led the Tar Heel attack with 19 points. Danny Green scored 18 points for North Carolina while Deon Thompson chipped in with 10.

It was the final game for Oklahoma seniors Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary. Taylor Griffin scored only four points while Johnson had only one field goal. Leary was held scoreless in limited action.

Blake Griffin outplayed former National Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina. Hansbrough got into foul trouble early, managing only eight points and six rebounds. Hansbrough's lack of production didn't seem to matter as the rest of the Tar Heels picked up the slack.

"It's not hard to see how talented they are throughout the year. I've always been impressed with them," said Taylor Griffin. "They're as good as advertised, I think."

Griffin returns, Sooners end mini-skid

Blake Griffin made is much anticipated return Saturday helping Oklahoma to a win over Texas Tech, 78-63.

Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Sooners won for the first time since Valentine's Day. Oklahoma (26-3, 12-2 Big 12) has won five straight games against the Red Raiders. It was Griffin's first appearance since being injured Feb. 21 in a loss to Texas.

Griffin no doubt scared the Oklahoma faithful early in the first half when he fell hard on his back trying to receive a pass. Griffin got up after a few seconds, shaking off the fall. The knock to the floor wasn't even the scariest part of the game for Sooners fans and Oklahoma head coach Jeff Caple.

With about 12 minutes to go in the second half, Griffin vaulted over the scorers table as he chased down a loose ball. Griffin was okay once again, getting up and returning to the floor.

"He only knows one way to play," Capel said to reporters after the game. "He was just so happy to be out there playing today. Just glad to see that he was okay because that one over the scorer's table was a pretty nasty fall."

Texas Tech did a much better job on Griffin this time around. The Red Raiders watched Griffin score 43 points and bring in 20 rebounds on Feb. 14.

"We cut everything in half that we gave him before," Tech head coach Pat Knight told reporters after the game. "He's the best. I think he's the total package."

Griffin looks to continue his campaign for National Player of the Year on Wednesday against Missouri. The Sooners finish up the regular season Saturday at home against Oklahoma State.

For more information on Sooners basketball, visit soonersports.com.