Oklahoma gives Tigers shot at redemption
Heading into last Sunday’s game against Kansas, America was welcoming the Missouri men’s basketball team into the national conscience. The Tigers had climbed into the top 11 in both major polls, and Sports Illustrated even featured Missouri’s rapid ascent this season.
Then, just as quickly as Kansas center Cole Aldrich could throw down another alley-oop, the Tigers came crashing back to earth. Expected to have a shot at winning at Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. for the first time in ten years, Kansas rode the energy of an atmosphere some Kansas fans have called “the best Allen has ever been” to a 90-65 rout of Missouri.
Things don’t get much easier for Missouri this week. No. 12 Missouri returns home for its final home game of the season against No. 5 Oklahoma, a team recently thought to be among the nation’s elite. A win against Oklahoma would likely aid Missouri tremendously in the national perspective, helping them gain a measure of redemption in the public eye.
The debacle in Lawrence did little to change Missouri’s view in the eyes of Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. In fact, Capel seemed to empathize with Missouri after his Sooner team got trounced, 85-55, in Lawrence last season.
“It can get away from you quick up in Lawrence, I can tell you that from last year,” Capel said in Monday’s Big 12 conference call. “[In the Missouri game], that crowd was just ready, as were Kansas’ players. I watched the whole game.”
Capel was effusive in his praise of the job Missouri coach Mike Anderson has done this season. Capel also extended praise the way of Missouri’s two primary big men, senior forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons.
“(Carroll) is having a first team all-league kind of year. Leo Lyons is as talented as any big in this league,” Capel said.
Yet, people would be lying if they said Lyons and Carroll were the big men of note in the game. Oklahoma touts superstar sophomore forward Blake Griffin, who will likely be the runaway winner for National Player of the Year.
Griffin leads the country with 13.9 rebounds per game and leads the Big 12 conference with 21.9 points per game. Griffin has 23 double-doubles in 28 games this season. On Monday, Anderson was asked how to contain Griffin.
“A lot of people have tried to do that and they haven’t done a very good job. The only way you can try to contain him is by him not playing,” Anderson said. “He presents a tremendous challenge for our basketball team – you can’t guard him with just one player.”
Oklahoma’s two conference losses came with Griffin nursing a concussion. He was knocked out of the Sooners’ 73-68 road loss to Texas on Feb. 21 and did not play in Oklahoma’s 87-78 home loss to Kansas on Feb. 23. Griffin returned last Saturday for Oklahoma’s 78-63 win over Texas Tech, registering 20 points and 18 rebounds.
To have a shot a beating Oklahoma, Missouri will have to contain Griffin’s deep supporting cast. Tony Crocker, Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson, and Juan Patillo have all come up huge in certain situations this season, and Anderson says freshman guard Willie Warren “might be the Freshman of the Year in the country.”
With all the challenges Oklahoma presents Missouri, it’s up for debate whether facing the Sooners after Missouri’s loss in Lawrence is good or bad timing. Immediately following Missouri’s loss on Sunday, junior guard Zaire Taylor said the loss would be motivation for Wednesday.
“There might not be a better time to play Oklahoma than right after this loss,” Taylor said.
10:23 a.m., March 4, 2009
Rex said:
Nobody has been able to beat the Sooners without Griffin, but this could be Okie's toughest test.