Postgame Notes

Oklahoma vs. Michigan
NCAA Tournament Second Round
(March 21, 2009)

• South Region No. 2 seed Oklahoma beat No. 10 seed Michigan 73-63 to advance to its eighth NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Sooners have now qualified for the regional semifinals four times in their last nine NCAA Tournaments over the last 11 seasons (this is the first time since 2003).

• OU improved to 29-5 with the victory. Its 29 wins are tied for the fifth most in school history (record is 35 in 1987-88).

• The Sooners are now 35-25 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. This marks OU's 27th postseason appearance (22 NCAAs, five NITs) in the past 28 seasons (tied for the most nationally during the span).

• Blake Griffin tied a Big 12 record with his 28th double-double of the year by registering game highs of 33 points and 17 rebounds. Griffin's 17 boards tied a single-game school NCAA Tournament record while his 33 points were the fifth most in OU NCAA Tourney history.

• Griffin was 14-for-20 from the field and also handed out three assists. It was his 15th game of at least three assists this season.

• In OU's two games in Kansas City this week, Griffin was 25-for-32 from the field (.781) and averaged 30.5 points and 15.0 rebounds.

• Freshman Willie Warren finished with 16 points and four assists. It was his 26th double-figure scoring game of the year. He was 3-for-7 from 3-point range, giving him eight games of at least three treys.

• Austin Johnson played 40 minutes, went 3-for-6 from 3-point distance and finished with 12 points and just one turnover (came with 18 seconds remaining). OU is now 26-3 the last two seasons when he scores at least 10 points.

• Tony Crocker was 0-for-4 from the field (all 3-point attempts) and was held to four points, but recorded a team-high six assists against one turnover. He also drew three charges, all in the second half.

• Taylor Griffin went 2-for-6 from the field, snapping his streak of 11 straight games of shooting .500 or better. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Griffin leads the team with 44 steals on the year and ranks second with 36 rejections.

• Oklahoma improved to 26-1 this season when outshooting its opponent. The Sooners posted a .490 field goal figure while holding the Wolverines to a .393 mark. OU has held 16 of its 34 opponents to a field goal mark under .400 this year.

• OU's starters (Blake and Taylor Griffin, Crocker, Warren and Johnson) played virtually the entire second half. The only substitution came with 18 seconds to go (Orlando Allen for Blake Griffin).

• OU improved to 1-2 against Michigan. It lost to the Wolverines in the 1988 Maui Classic title game and in the 2004 postseason NIT second round.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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