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Sooner04
2/21/2009, 11:41 PM
So you walk into the lab one night and you decide you're going to whip up the basketball equivalent of Little Big Horn.

First, you give your star player one foul in ten seconds and another in seven minutes. Off to the bench he goes. Then you sprinkle in a guy who's name violates every pronunciation tenet the Queen ever came up with for her English and make him play like "Magic" Johnson. Now send your star to the bench for good with eyes as glassy as Crater Lake and the nose of Rihanna. A dash of seven free throws, even though you usually shoot four times that many. AJ Abrams couldn't hit ice if he fell out of a kayak in Nome for weeks, but tonight he channels Michael Jordan's peerless performance against Portland in the '92 Finals. Yeah, toss a little bit of that in there too.

It all adds up to a blowout.

But it wasn't.

Games like this chew up my intestines. All those factors should point to our Sooners heading up on the business end of a ghastly beating. But it wasn't. I'd rather lose by 30 then have a chance at the end. This team has given us all so much this year, and tonight they gave us more than any of us thought they had.

Our rebounding adonis is a complete non-factor, but we lead on the boards. We lay an egg of brontosaurian proportions at the start of the second half and appear to be a cause as hopeless as Bevo's lost genitalia, but we're back in the lead in a matter of nanoseconds. The Burnt Orange Scum regain their wits and go back up six, yet we score the next 11 to go back up five. Such resiliency has not been seen in crimson and cream since I don't know when.

In the end, here's what you say: the Texas season was figuratively on the ropes. A. J. Abrams, a man's who Clinique-caked face brings to mind Paul Pierce, hit every big shot down the stretch and refused to let his team lose. You hate it, you loathe it, but you accept the fact that Texas had to have this game and you walk away. As Sooners, our season will be defined 46 hours from now. Let Texas have this one.......we have bigger birds to skin.


SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 11 [come monday, it'll be all right.]
2nd - 18 [come monday, i'll be holding you tight.]
3rd - 18 [I've spent four lonely days in a brown LA haze]
4th - 21 [and I just want you back by my side.]


LEADING SCORERS:
27 - Willie Warren [I think not, Tyreke Evans.]
14 - Tony Crocker [too assertive late.]
9 - Taylor Griffin


LEADING REBOUNDERS:
8 - Taylor Griffin [admirable performance down low.]
7 - Austin Johnson
7 - Tony Crocker


PLUSES:
1. Willie Warren: Another virtuoso performance when things were caving in all around. He did it in Fayetteville. He did it in Houston, and now he's done it in Ames and Austin. I think we win the game if we don't forget about him down the stretch.

2. Taylor Griffin: Eight and nine under very tough circumstances.

3. Ryan Wright: Really provided some strength down low in the second half.


MINUSES:
1. Physicality: We lost a LOT of points because they wouldn't let us get to the line.

2. Juan Pattillo: Way too eager early on and he blew several easy buckets because of it. Did play much better in the second half.

3. A. J. Abrams: My wife wants to know what kind of eyeliner he uses.

4. Perimeter: Not only did we lose Abrams often, but we got away from getting the ball inside to our cutters. That's how we made our run in the second half, but we started jacking up tough shots late and it turned into empty possessions. The film review will reveal several blown opportunities there late.


Friends, hear me out. This was UT's game, not ours. #1 is nice, but our last two Final Four teams never spent a second at the top spot. When speaking of OUr goals, Monday night is the blockbuster. Beat the Chickenhawks, and we're back on top of the conference by a full game with the tie-breaker in hand over those turtleneck-wearing peckerheads. Bring strong vocal chords and a keen sense of loathing to the Lloyd Noble Center Monday night, for the most prissy, disgusting, stuck-up bunch of blue sweater-sporting cucumber munchers on the face of the Earth are coming to Norman.

We must crush them.


Thank you for your time.

kc sooner
2/21/2009, 11:51 PM
Great recap as usual, and I must say, not too disappointed in the loss tonight, like you said Abrams hasn't been that good all year, and he is such a gunner, he takes sooooo many bad shots, and tonight he was on, man I would hate to play with him, he wants to shoot everytime he is even close to the ball. Anyway, living here in KC, I get to see the snobby stuck up, jerk KU fans up close and man do I want to win Monday night more than anything!!

KC//CRIMSON
2/21/2009, 11:54 PM
Have you ever smashed/stubbed your toe and it hurt so bad you started laughing?

Yeah, this write up.

Hotrod3157
2/22/2009, 12:01 AM
Great recap of the game. I agree that we kind of forgot about Willie down the stretch after he sat down for a couple of minutes with that cramp.

8timechamps
2/22/2009, 12:04 AM
Ok.

Works for me.

I'll move on to beating the Avian Flu from KU.

brown town sooner
2/22/2009, 12:37 AM
Great recap....TEXASS sucks and KU goes down Monday. OU showed tonight that they are a team that is going to be tough to handle. Griffin out and we still should have won. Just hope BG can get healthy come playoff time.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
2/22/2009, 03:08 AM
crocker slays me with his shot selection

soonerfan28
2/22/2009, 09:16 AM
That last shot should've been in Willie's hands. With this loss it's easy to see that we are a pretty good team without Griffin, but we're talking about a Texas team that had lost 4 of its last 6 before last night.

okienole3
2/22/2009, 09:32 AM
I have no idea why Crocker took that shot at the end. Oh well. Can't wait till Monday.

IronHorseSooner
2/22/2009, 09:52 AM
What the Bonghorns do with Abrams is eerily similar to what OSWho used to do with Randy Rutherford, KU with Jeff Boshee, and Mizzou with Clarence Gilbert. They would run them like mad men off of screens all night, and just wait for the defenders to wear down. I still can't figure out why we didn't foul the Shoney's Big Boy or Balbay in the last minute, and we had the chance to foul both of them. For either of them to get to the line would have been like UTerus having a critical turnover. Balbay = Gottlieb. Can make the great pass or drive, but can't hit a 3 or a FT to save his life.

bri
2/22/2009, 10:31 AM
We tried to foul Chubbs McButterpants after he got that offensive rebound; that's why he was able to lay it up and in. Everyone was busy grabbing handfuls of love handle and looking at the ref going "Seriously, guy? Blow the f*ckin' whistle!"

OUSKINS
2/22/2009, 10:32 AM
Really interesting night in what turned out to be a highly entertaining game. Going in, I had kind of a bad feeling; we were due for a loss and Texas was at home and absolutely desperate. More to the point, UT has underachieved over the past month or so, which is surprising because Rick Barnes is such a good coach. I knew we'd be getting a great effort from a rival who is better than they've shown lately.

So, when it became clear that Blake wasn't going to come back into the game, my fears turned to downright acceptance that we'd lose. And when UT took the 41-29 lead early in the second half, I thought the rout was on.

But from that point, something really important happened for the Sooners-- the way we played the 2nd half was a thing of beauty and a testament to just how good Capel is.

--What can you say about Warren? Once again, he stepped up his game in a situation where we needed him most. His biggest games have come when the rest of the offense was struggling. He is content to let the other guys score when things are going well, but he understands when he needs to do more-- this is an instinct, something that can't be taught and Willie also has that "it" or the gamesmanship-- a swagger. Blake is the most athletic player on the team and he is definitely the most physically gifted. But I think Willie is the most "talented" player on the squad and maybe the most talented I've ever seen at OU. I define "talent" as innate ability to play the game; Willie has "it."

--Taylor played very well last night. He did his garbage man duties very well early on and kept us in the game in the first half. He played with max effort and stepped up in Blake's absence.

--Crocker was pretty good last night-- really active. He just took one bad shot in my opinion during a huge juncture in the final minutes-- he rushed a three, which proved to be our last real chance-- I think he should have gotten the ball to Willie in that situation. All in all though, Crocker played with great energy.

--Not a good game for Patillo...he seemed a step slow for some reason. We certainly could have used more out of him considering Blake's situation. Ryan Wright played a lot more than usual and he gave us good minutes.

--One complaint with Capel last night: Where was Davis? Cade was coming off his best game as a Sooner and I thought his seat on the bench was a bit curious. I think it may have had to do with defense....Crocker is a better defender and he was playing well, but I still thought Capel should have found a few more minutes for Cade. With the attention Willie was drawing, I think Cade could have gotten some open looks.

--Hats off to Abrahms. OU played really well and I thought Johnson did a solid job of guarding Abrahms and making him take tough shots--- the guy just hit them....all. He stepped up and saved his team's season last night. He was excellent.

--It would have been cool to go into Monday night ranked #1-- that would have added to what will be a great atmosphere and that #1 ranking is always a nice source of pride and excitment. So, I'm mildly disappointed we won't be ranked #1. However, the loss last night means little else. It doesn't hurt us in our quest for a #1 seed in the Dance as long as we take care of business from here.

--I also think this game will do lot in terms of confidence for the team. I don't think the guys were hanging their heads after this one. We played without the best player in the country and it took a huge effort from one of Texas's players to beat us.

--Now, the scary part: The game Monday night is for the #1 seed in the B12 Tourney. I don't think KU is going to lose again after our game-- so if they win, they control their destiny. And if we win, we virtually clinch that top seed. And KU is a hot team right now and a very talented one. The big question is whether or not Blake will be ready to go. If he's not, it's going to be tough....but as we learned, not impossible.

soonerfan28
2/22/2009, 10:37 AM
If we beat Kansas and then lose at Missouri then Missouri should clinch the #1seed. Although I don't that happening.

tommieharris91
2/22/2009, 11:06 AM
If we beat Kansas and then lose at Missouri then Missouri should clinch the #1seed. Although I don't that happening.

That only happens if Mizzou wins @Kansas.

IronHorseSooner
2/22/2009, 11:22 AM
We tried to foul Chubbs McButterpants after he got that offensive rebound; that's why he was able to lay it up and in. Everyone was busy grabbing handfuls of love handle and looking at the ref going "Seriously, guy? Blow the f*ckin' whistle!"

Taylor did everything on that play but pistol whip him. It was right in front of the ref, as were the muggings that the Chupacabra, Willie, and Crock got underneath on OUr end. Either call all of them fouls or none of them. This is why officiating in the Big XII, in all sports, is an absolute joke. I don't think it's fixed, I just think it is incompetent.

Rock Hard Corn Frog
2/22/2009, 11:32 AM
I have no idea why Crocker took that shot at the end. Oh well. Can't wait till Monday.

After Crocker's performance against Baylor last year I have no problem with him taking a shot at the end of the game if he has an open look.

I know Texas has struggled lately but this was their biggest game of the year, just as Monday is probably that for us.

IronHorseSooner
2/22/2009, 11:52 AM
After Crocker's performance against Baylor last year I have no problem with him taking a shot at the end of the game if he has an open look.

I know Texas has struggled lately but this was their biggest game of the year, just as Monday is probably that for us.

I had no problem with Crock's shot either. After that, though, we should have ran right to Balbay and fouled him. He's a PG that shoots under 40% from the line, and his shots look like VY's passes, wounded ducks. Bottom line, if Blake plays, we win the game. I think this loss angers this team enough to want to lay waste to the remaining schedule and the post season. I can't remember the analyst, but somebody said something along those lines last night after the game. Right now, Pitt and OU are the two best and toughest teams in America. The difference is that when Blair goes down, they shut down. When Blake goes out, OUr guys try even harder.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
2/22/2009, 02:04 PM
After Crocker's performance against Baylor last year I have no problem with him taking a shot at the end of the game if he has an open look.

I know Texas has struggled lately but this was their biggest game of the year, just as Monday is probably that for us.

if that had been an open look i wouldn't have said anything, but that shot was contested from in front. that was a classic "desperation three", not a shot you take down 3 with a lot of game left.

primetime43
2/22/2009, 02:23 PM
I made the trip to Austin last night. I was very disappointed but at the same time I'm extremely proud of the guys. They had no business winning that game last night. A couple of points. When it was 41-29 I thought the rout was one too but something inside Willie Warren went off. I love how the kid isn't afraid. He loves the challenge when all odds are against him and our team. I've seen OU twice this year. Once at Rice and now at UT and Warren has been spectacular each time. He is a special player.

On to the end of the game. How is the ball not in Willie's hand each possession? I thought Crocker was trying to be superman down the stretch. There was one play in particular that I thought was bad. He forced a jumper and we didn't have anyone back to rebound the miss. That was a crucial possession. If I'm Capel I have to let someone else beat me rather than Abrams. Do what you have to do but don't let that kid get the ball. Crockers three at the end was total desparation. I believe there was 12 seconds left so we didn't even need to shoot the 3 unless it was open.
Willie has to touch the ball in that situation.

Oh well we have to move on. Lets beat the Jayhawks and claim the Big 12 tomorrow night!

TopDawg
2/22/2009, 04:14 PM
I'm glad 04's a bigger basketball fan than football fan. It means we get about 3 times as many recaps.

ouleaf
2/22/2009, 08:35 PM
--Hats off to Abrahms. OU played really well and I thought Johnson did a solid job of guarding Abrahms and making him take tough shots--- the guy just hit them....all. He stepped up and saved his team's season last night. He was excellent.



This was probably the biggest key for them down the stretch to hang on for the win.

We all know Abrahms has the ability to explode like that, even though the rest of his game pretty much sucks. I'll give him credit though....when you're facing a guy that is in a zone like that, there really isn't much you can do. Our AJ did a pretty solid job of playing him close and at least getting a hand in his face, but when the shots are falling, there really isn't much you can do to stop that sort of thing.

I'm extremely proud of the way our guys hung in there without their No. 1 on the floor.