Tilting at Windmills

It happened.

We knew OU probably would not run the table in conference, although they had a great shot. We, along with the rest of the country, knew that as Blake goes, so goes OU. We knew that UT hadn’t been playing well as of late, but was talented enough to play over their heads and if they got the right breaks, could upset these Sooners in Austin.

Done, done and done.

The summary

The unthinkable happened last night at the Erwin Center: Blake went down with a concussion after only playing 11 minutes and OU missed out on its chance to be the #1 team in the nation for only the sixth time in school history.

Reports vary as to just how Blake was injured. Some folks think it was Dexter Pittman grazing his big mitt over Blake’s nose (no foul called on the play). The Oklahoman indicates it might have been PG Dogus Balbay slapping Blake around. ESPN highlight video shows and talks about reserve center Clint Chapman throwing an elbow to the back of Blake’s head at about the 5:40 mark of the first half.

However it happened, it happened and the Sooners had to play without its best player in school history for most of the game last night. How did they respond? Like a Top 5 team. They scratched, clawed and gritted their way the rest of the way and it wasn’t until A.J. Abrams decided to go bonkers that the game was finally decided. Hey Crocker, nice sleeves. Guard somebody.

What went well

Willie Warren continued his outstanding freshman season, putting the team on his back by pouring in 27 points, 18 of them coming from long range, and dishing 6 dimes. He showed his heart late in the second half when as he fell to the floor, bothered by a cramp in his calf, he was unable to run to the other end of the floor. He saw Austin Johnson grab a steal, made his way to his feet, called for the ball, got it and drained a three (putting OU up by 5) before falling to the ground again, writhing in pain. It was an extremely masculine move that said a lot not only about Warren, but about the team in that they weren’t going to lie down and take it.

Ryan Wright logged 20 minutes spelling the concussed Griffin and really gave OU a lift off the bench. While Juan Pattillo was struggling, Wright did a solid job on the wide-bodied Pittman, helping limit him to 5 points for the game.

OU’s heart. Playing most of the game and the entire second half on the road in the most hostile of environments without the national player of the year, OU could have easily folded and been blown out. They came together as a team, though, and showed that they’re more than just Superman and a supporting cast. We’re Oklahoma so we don’t believe in moral victories, but damn guys. If I’ve ever been proud of a team in a loss, this was it. Capel summed it up nicely:

“We didn’t have anything to prove to ourselves. We’ve played hard all year. Again, I’ve been saying all year, and our guys know it, that it’s not Blake and the Sooners, it’s Oklahoma. We didn’t prove anything to ourselves. We lost and we’re disappointed.”

You could make an excellent case that Capel outcoached Rick Barnes last night. Instead of continuing to try and counter UT’s bigs down low, Capel went small ball with Austin Johnson, Willie, Crocker, Pattillo and Taylor Griffin on the court at the same time last night. OU got back in the game with that lineup, thanks to Willie being able to get past anything in front of him and finding cutters who were just quicker than UT’s front line.

What went wrong

Tony effing Crocker. 16 points and 7 rebounds aside, I thought we might be in trouble when I saw him on Abrams late in the game. I was exasperated to the point of wanting to run out of the Erwin Center flailing my arms when, not only did he let Abrams get open time and again in the final three minutes, but he totally lost him on UT’s last possession. Even though Abrams missed the shot, Pittman was able to bull his way for an offensive rebound and putback. Had Crocker been able to play a shred of defense, he could have better denied Abrams the ball and OU would have been down only one point with 30 seconds to play. Then to compound the problem, he took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and threw up a wild three that didn’t even come close to going in. I honestly do not know what Capel sees in this guy.

Juan Pattillo finally had a bad game. Pattillo had a respectable 7 points and 4 boards coming off the bench, but was repeatedly responsible for turnovers, mainly by not being ready to receive easy passes thrown his way. He was outplayed by Wright and just killed OU at times when they really needed a basket to either get back in the game or stave off a UT run.

Officiating. When you start off saying “I’m not gay, but,” that’s usually an indicator of gay. I don’t like putting things on refs because there are so many other times in a close game when the losing team should have just taken care of business and didn’t. However, we know for a fact that Blake was clubbed out of the game. We also know that there weren’t any calls on any of the aforementioned clubbing. Bottom line, though, OU should have gotten stops when they had the chance, period.

OU let Balbay get into the lane over and over. Like I pointed out in the preview, he was the overlooked guy for the Horns that I thought could make a difference. He took advantage of Blake being out by repeatedly driving to the hoop and either finishing at the rim, or more times than not, dropping it off to somebody like Damion James for an easy two. Balbay finished with 10 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. When your point guard is filling up a stat sheet like that, you’re going to win a lot of games.

What’s next

Oh crap, it’s Kansas tomorrow on Big Monday. Too bad OU doesn’t have the week of rest that it had last week. Blake had an MRI today that was negative, but his status is still uncertain for tomorrow night’s game in Norman. If he doesn’t play, Wright probably starts in his place and OU will have to go to the formula they used against Texas and ride Willie if they’re going to maintain first place in the Big 12.

The Daily Oklahoman and ESPN are reporting that Blake Griffin’s MRI on Sunday was negative, but his status for the Big Monday game tomorrow night against Kansas is still uncertain.

Griffin played just 11 minutes in the Sooners’ 73-68 loss to Texas before leaving the game with a concussion in Austin last night.

Reports vary as to just when and how Griffin was hurt. Most are looking at Dexter Pittman slapping Blake in the face (no foul called) early in the first half. The Oklahoman says it could be UT PG Dogus Balbay gave him a shot to the chops (didn’t see it). If you watch the ESPN video above, it sure looks like reserve thug center Clint Chapman gave Blake an elbow to the back of the head (no foul called) at the 5:40 mark, causing him to turn the ball over.

Regardless, it’s definitely a terrible time for OU to lose its superstar.