KANSAS CITY, Mo.—All-conference forward Blake Griffin was a non-factor. Shots were tough to come by, even harder to get in. Passes sailed into the crowd.
Nothing seemed to go right for Oklahoma, yet the Sooners found a way to win—which is all that matters at this point in the season.
Tony Crocker had 12 points and Oklahoma survived poor shooting and an off day from Griffin to beat Colorado 54-49 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
“I don’t think we played well, but at this time of year it’s about surviving and advancing, and that’s what we were able to do,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “We were able to make some plays. I thought we did some good things at times, but we couldn’t be consistent with it.”
Oklahoma (22-10) got off to a fast start, stalled, then needed a late run to hold off the pesky Buffaloes.
The Sooners shot just 32 percent, hit 6-of-23 from 3-point range and got four points from Griffin, but had a 15-6 advantage in offensive rebounds and played superb defense.
Longar Longar had 11 points and nine rebounds, but turned it over seven times. Taylor Griffin, Blake’s brother, added 10 points for Oklahoma, which moves on to face Texas in Saturday’s semifinals.
“It definitely wasn’t a good game for us as a team,” Taylor Griffin said. “It was good in the fact that we won, but I don’t think anybody played great, maybe not even good.”
Colorado (12-20) had something to do with it.
The Buffaloes, like they did in the first round against Baylor, turned the game into a grind, passing at least a dozen times, milking the shot clock on nearly every possession. The tactic turned it into a defensive battle, putting a premium on every possession.
Colorado had its own problems offensively, scoring 21 points in the first half, shooting 34 percent and just 6-of-25 from 3-point range. But the Buffaloes managed to keep it close with defense, forcing Oklahoma to hit key shots and free throws down the stretch to pull off the victory.
“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Richard Roby, who had 18 points to break Donnie Boyce’s school record of 1,995 career points by six. “We were always playing uphill, climbing uphill.”
Colorado was particularly effective against Blake Griffin, quickly sending double and triple teams as soon as he touched the ball.
Griffin averaged 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds during the regular season, but was clearly frustrated by Colorado’s swarming defense. He had two points in the first half and was 2-of-7 shooting overall, playing just 15 minutes.
“I didn’t really get into the flow,” said Griffin, who’s been bothered by two knee injuries this season. “I just tried to rebound and run the floor. We had other guys step up and play well and that helped a lot.”
Colorado pulled off the surprise of the first round, holding off Baylor 91-84 in two overtimes to become the first No. 12 seed to beat a fifth seed in the Big 12 tournament’s 12-year history.
The Buffaloes figured to have a shot at knocking off Oklahoma, too. They beat the Sooners 72-58 in Boulder on Feb. 9 and had a little extra motivation after Capel called the game “the most embarrassing thing I’ve been a part of.”
But the long game the day before seemed to take something out of Colorado, at least early.
The Buffaloes were lethargic, throwing passes out of bounds on two of their first five possessions, falling behind 10-0 before getting their first basket 5:05 into the game.
“We spot them a 10-zip lead right out of the gates, so we were always trying to fight back,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said.
Then Colorado slid into its grind-it-out style.
After some early breakdowns, Colorado tightened up defensively, rarely giving the Sooners an open look, holding them to 26 points on 8-of-23 in the first half.
Colorado still managed to keep the game tight throughout most of the second half until Sooners went on a brief run to go 51-44 on a 3-pointer by Crocker with just over 2 minutes left.
But Oklahoma missed three straight free throws to give Colorado a chance. The Buffaloes pulled within 51-49 on Dwight Thorne’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, but Crocker hit two free throws and Austin Johnson hit 1-of-2 to seal it.
“I applaud the efforts of our team,” Bzdelik said. “We never quit. We always believed and we kept battling.”
