Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Auburn on February 24, 2026 , Win , 91, to, 79
Final
Men's Basketball
91
vs Auburn
79
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Start Postseason Friday at 2
March 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
| OU (21-10, 9-7) vs. Colorado (12-19, 3-13) | |
| Date & Tip Time | Friday, March 14 at 2 p.m. CST |
| Event | Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals |
| Location | Kansas City, Mo. | Sprint Center |
| TV | ESPN Plus (KOCB Ch. 34/Cox 11 in OKC; KJRH Ch. 2/Cox 9 in Tulsa) ESPNU, ESPN Full Court |
| Radio | Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM-1520 in Oklahoma City KTBZ AM-1430 in Tulsa |
| Webcast | None |
| Live Stats | SoonerSports.com / GameTracker |
| Game Info | Gameday Central | Game Notes (PDF) |
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The recipient of a first-round bye for the ninth time in 12 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships, Oklahoma (21-10 overall, 9-7 Big 12) is the No. 4 seed in this year's event, being played at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma are the top four seeds, respectively, and do not play in Thursday's first round.
OU will begin its quest for a fourth Big 12 tournament title on Friday at 2 p.m. CDT against No. 12 seed Colorado (the Buffaloes beat No. 5 seed Baylor 91-84 in double-overtime on Thursday). If the Sooners win on Friday, they will play a semifinals contest Saturday at 1 p.m. Sunday's championship game will start at 2 p.m.
All of Oklahoma's Big 12 Championship games will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. OU's Friday quarterfinals contest will be televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34, Cox 11 in Oklahoma City; KJRH Channel 2/Cox 9 in Tulsa), ESPNU and ESPN Full Court with Dave Armstrong and Reid Gettys announcing. Saturday's semifinals contests will be televised by ESPN Plus in Big 12 markets and by ESPN2 outside of the region. Sunday's championship game will be shown nationally by ESPN.
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OKLAHOMA AND THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
• Oklahoma is 41-24 (.631) in conference postseason action (18-8 in 11 seasons of the Big 12 format).
• OU has participated in 12 tournament championship games and has won seven crowns (Big 12 titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and Big Eight titles in 1979, 1985, 1988 and 1990).
• The Sooners have won three Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship titles (2001, 2002, 2003).
• Including this year, OU has earned first-round byes in nine of 12 league tournaments. It has won at least one game in 10 of 12 years.
• The Sooners have played in five of the 11 Big 12 title games.
• Oklahoma won its first-round 2004 game against Nebraska to tie a Big 12 record for most consecutive league tournament victories (10, shared by Kansas).
• Only Kansas (22 wins and five titles) has more total tournament wins and championships than OU (18 victories and three crowns).
• The Sooners are 13-5 in Big 12 Championship play in Kansas City (all games were played at Kemper Arena), with titles in 2001 and 2002.
NOTEWORTHY
• OU is 13-1 this year when Austin Johnson scores in double figures (8-0 in Big 12 play).
• Blake Griffin is averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in Big 12 play (not including the Jan. 14 Kansas game when he played only five minutes before leaving with a knee injury).
• Over the last three games (all wins), OU is holding opponents to an average of 53.0 points and to .361 field goal and .212 (11-for-52) 3-point shooting marks.
• In their 21 wins, the Sooners are shooting .407 from 3-point range. In their 10 losses, they are shooting .269 from long range.
• OU set an NCAA Division I record (since the advent of the shot clock in 1986) on March 1 against Texas A&M for length of time holding an opponent scoreless (16:12).
• The Sooners have finished below .500 in Big 12 play just once in the league's 12 seasons.
• Oklahoma has won at least 20 games 11 times in the past 12 seasons.
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BLAKE GRIFFIN NABS FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Freshman forward Blake Griffin was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection on Monday by the league's head coaches and by the Associated Press. Joining Griffin on the coaches' squad were Baylor's Curtis Jerrells, Kansas' Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Texas' D.J. Augustin. The AP team consisted of Griffin, Augustin, Beasley, Jerrells and Nebraska's Aleks Maric. Griffin is OU's first freshman to earn first-team all-conference acclaim since Wayman Tisdale was crowned Big Eight Player of the Year in 1983.
• On the season, Griffin is averaging 15.2 points (ranks eighth in Big 12), 9.2 rebounds (ranks fourth) and 1.9 assists while shooting .568 from the field (ranks third).
• In his 13 full Big 12 games (he missed two outings due to injury and only played five minutes at Kansas on Jan. 14), Griffin is averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
• Griffin has scored in double figures in 19 of his last 21 games (not including the Kansas contest).
• Griffin holds OU's top four scoring performances this season. He netted 29 versus Baylor (Feb. 19), 27 against Kansas State (Jan. 12), 26 versus Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 7) and 25 at Colorado (Feb. 9). He also holds nine of OU's top 10 rebounding marks.
• Griffin was named an NABC First-Team All-District 12 pick on March 5 along with Beasley, Kansas' Mario Chalmers and Rush, and Maric.
TEAM UPDATE
• The Sooners enter the Big 12 Championship on a three-game winning streak (tied for their second longest of the year) and as winners in six of their last eight. Over the last thee outings (64-37 vs. Texas A&M, 68-56 at Oklahoma State and 75-66 vs. Missouri), OU has held its foes to 53.0 points per game and to .361 field goal and .212 (11-for-52) 3-point shooting. It also forced those opponents into an average of 16.0 turnovers.
• Oklahoma has has held its opponents to 30 or fewer points in five of the last six halves (an average of 24.0 in those five halves).
• As of Thursday, March 13, both CollegeRPI.com and ESPN.com project OU as an NCAA Tournament No. 7 seed.
• Oklahoma is attempting to earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the 25th time in school history and for the 12th time in the last 14 years. A postseason berth of any kind would be OU's 26th in the last 27 seasons (no team in the country has more postseason appearances over the last 26 years than Oklahoma's 25).
• OU is 2-1 in neutral site games this year. Playing at Madison Square Garden in mid-November, the Sooners lost to then-No. 3 Memphis (63-53) before beating Gardner-Webb (69-55). They also beat then-No. 18 Gonzaga (72-68) in Oklahoma City on Dec. 20.
• OU is shooting .486 from the field and .407 from 3-point range in its wins but just .375 and .269, respectively, in its losses.
• The Sooners are 18-4 when their opponent commits more turnovers, 15-4 when outrebounding their opponent, 15-2 when ahead at the half, 10-1 when shooting at least .500 from the field and 12-3 when winning the opening tip.
• Either Blake or Taylor Griffin has led OU in rebounding in 19 of the last 21 contests (12 times by Blake and seven by Taylor).
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FRONTCOURT UPDATE
• Freshman forward Blake Griffin sustained a partially torn medial meniscus in his right knee with 15:15 remaining in the first half of OU's 64-37 win over Texas A&M on March 1. Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery the following morning and returned six days later to register 14 points and eight rebounds against Missouri.
• Griffin also injured his left knee (sprained medial collateral ligament) five minutes into OU's game at Kansas on Jan. 14 (he missed the rest of that contest as well as the team's next game against Texas Tech). He has worn a brace on the knee every practice and game since.
• In his 13 full Big 12 games, Griffin is averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists. OU's leading scorer (15.2) and rebounder (9.2) on the year, he has scored in double figures in 19 of his last 21 games (not including the Kansas contest).
• Griffin has nine double-doubles on the year and is averaging 19.1 points and 14.0 rebounds in those contests.
• Senior center Longar Longar missed two games (Feb. 6 vs. Texas and Feb. 9 at Colorado) due to a broken bone in his lower right leg but has returned to average 25.3 minutes over eight games since (OU is 6-2 during the stretch). Longar is averaging 8.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in those eight outings (11.3 and 7.3 over the last three).
• Longar has just one double-double this year (16 points, 11 rebounds Nov. 16 vs. Gardner-Webb) after recording seven last year.
• Seeing a major increase in minutes the last month and a half, junior forward Taylor Griffin averaged 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds over a 10-game stretch (starting on Jan. 14) before averaging 4.6 points and 6.8 boards over the last five outings (he was held scoreless Feb. 23 at Texas and Feb. 27 at Nebraska). Griffin has started 13 of the last 14 games (averaging 27.0 minutes).
• Taylor Griffin shot .667 from the free throw line in non-conference play (20-for-30), but .792 (42-for-53) in Big 12 games.
BACKCOURT UPDATE
• Sophomore Tony Crocker, one of the Big 12's best 3-point shooters at .458 (60-for-131), has made at least three treys in a game 11 times and is 42-for-65 (.646) in those contests. He has already made 25 more 3-pointers this year than he did all of last season (35) when he shot a team-high .357 from behind the arc. His streak of seven consecutive 3-point makes was snapped Saturday against Missouri.
• Since averaging 7.3 points during OU's three-game losing streak to start February, Crocker is averaging 13.5 over the last eight contests (6-2 record). Included was a 22-point effort against Iowa State (Feb. 13), a 20-point game versus Baylor (Feb. 19) and a career-high 25-point outing at Oklahoma State (March 5). Against the Bears, Crocker scored OU's final seven points in the last 21 seconds of overtime (his four-point play with 7.3 seconds left was the game-winner). He was 5-for-5 from behind the arc at OSU.
• Junior Austin Johnson has responded nicely from a 3.3 scoring average over three losses to begin February and is averaging 12.5 points over the last eight contests. A .348 3-point field goal and .754 free throw shooter on the year, he owns respective .383 (18-for-47) and .909 (20-for-22) marks over those last eight games.
• Johnson's three highest scoring efforts this season (20, 19 and 18) have come within the last seven games.
• Johnson's value is illustrated in the fact that Oklahoma is 13-1 (9-0 in Big 12 play) when he scores in double figures.
• A starter in the team's first eight league games, senior David Godbold has come off the bench in six of the last eight outings. Godbold averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per Big 12 game (second most minutes on team).
• With his 16-point performance on Saturday against Missouri (his third highest output of the season), Godbold snapped an eight-game streak of scoring in single digits (he averaged 4.1 points in those eight outings).
• Freshman Cade Davis has started four games on the year and two of the starts have come over last three contests (he came off the bench on Senior Day). He averages 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game on the season, but over the last four contests is averaging 4.5 points, 2.3 boards and 18.5 minutes.
• Davis, who is 22-for-22 from the free throw line, scored a career-high 11 points against Iowa State on Feb. 13 when he was 3-for-3 from 3-point distance.
• Junior Omar Leary is averaging 4.2 points in 17.1 minutes per game. He started eight of the team's first 10 contests but has come off the bench in each of the last 21. A .409 shooter from 3-point range (27-for-66), he scored seven points March 5 at Oklahoma State (his most in 18 games) thanks to a 2-for-2 effort from behind the arc.
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SATURDAY'S MISSOURI RECAP
• Oklahoma overcame a 47-42 deficit and outscored Missouri 33-19 over the final 16:53 to post a 75-66 win last Saturday in Norman.
• OU shot .500 (26-for-52) from the field for the first time in 11 games. It held MU to a .455 figure (.364 after halftime).
• Missouri entered the game with a Big 12-best +4.2 turnover margin per contest, but committed 17 turnovers to OU's 14.
• Austin Johnson scored 18 points and posted career highs with his six free throw makes and eight attempts. He netted 14 points after halftime (seven in the final 3:12).
• Tony Crocker made his first two 3-point attempts to extend his streak to seven consecutive makes going back to the March 5 Oklahoma State game when he was 5-for-5. Crocker missed his third attempt against Missouri.
• Blake Griffin returned to action just six days after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn medial meniscus in his right knee. Griffin registered 14 points and eight rebounds (five offensive) in 28 minutes off the bench.
• The game was the last at home in the careers of seniors David Godbold and Longar Longar. Godbold canned three treys and finished with 16 points (his third highest total this season), three rebounds and two assists. Longar contributed eight points and team highs of nine boards and three assists.
• Oklahoma was outrebounded 22-10 in the first half but responded to outboard the Tigers 20-10 in the second half.
• The win was OU's first against Missouri in the regular season since 2002.
A FRIDAY OKLAHOMA WIN WOULD...
• Give the Sooners at least one victory in the Big 12 Championship for the 10th time in 12 league tournaments.
• Result in the program's eighth Big 12 Championship semifinals appearance.
• Improve OU's Big 12 Championship record to 19-8 (.704). Including the Big Eight Tournament, the Sooners would push their postseason conference tournament mark to 42-24 (.636).
• Extend the team's winning streak to four games, its second longest of the season (longest is five).
• Give the Sooners six more victories than they registered all of last season.
COLORADO SERIES NOTES
• Oklahoma owns an 85-48 all-time record against Colorado and has won 43 of the last 49 meetings. It is 9-0 versus the Buffaloes in conference postseason play (7-0 in the Big Eight format and 2-0 in the Big 12 format).
• OU is 10-4 against CU since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. It has won two Big 12 Championship games against the Buffs (55-41 in the 1997 quarterfinals and 74-59 in the 2003 quarterfinals).
EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST COLORADO
• Oklahoma entered the Feb. 9 game in Boulder holding opponents to .395 field goal shooting on the year, but Colorado shot .606 in a 72-58 win. It was the best shooting performance against an OU team since West Virginia shot .667 on Dec. 22, 2005 (a span of 75 games).
• The Buffaloes also went 7-for-11 (.636) from 3-point range and 25-for-29 (.862) from the free throw line.
• OU turned in a 4-for-26 (.154) effort from 3-point range, its second worst of the season. It pulled down 17 offensive rebounds (their second most of the year) but only converted them into 10 points.
• OU's 14-point losing margin was its second largest of the season at the time, despite the fact it attempted 27 more field goals than Colorado. The Buffaloes' 33 field goal attempts matched an OU opponent season low.
• Blake Griffin was the only Sooner to score in double figures. He was 11-for-17 from the field and finished with 25 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists.
• For the second straight game, OU played without the services of starting center Longar Longar (broken bone in right leg).
Porter Moser Postgame vs West Virginia
Sunday, April 05
MBB Highlights: OU 82, Baylor 69
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis Postgame vs Baylor
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser and Nijel Pack Postgame vs Colorado
Thursday, April 02
