Posts Tagged ‘oklahoma’
From the Wire: Monday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
Michigan State has come a long, long way since getting whomped by the Tar Heels in December
– Alex Altman, The State News
ALSO: The Spartans look to knock off a third No. 1 seed; MSU fans are in full force
Will North Carolina be able to dictate the tempo once again? — David Ely, The Daily Tar Heel
ALSO: Detroit rallies behind the Spartans
Arizona strikes out once more, this time with Xavier’s Sean Miller
– Lance Madden, The Arizona Daily Wildcat
By nearly leaving USC, Tim Floyd reminded us coaching is all about money, power and ego
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, The Daily Trojan
Oklahoma‘s Blake Griffin capped his brilliant season with a well-deserved Naismith Award
– Eric Dama, The Oklahoma Daily
From the Wire: Monday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
No Michigan State player pushed harder to reach the Final Four than Travis Walton — Alex Altman, The State News
ALSO: MSU clinched its fifth Final Four berth in 11 years; Thousands of fans welcomed them home
Pitt isn’t ready to think about whether DeJuan Blair will come back next season — Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News
ALSO: The Panthers are not accustomed to losing close games
Danny Green came up big for North Carolina with Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington struggling — David Ely, The Daily Tar Heel
ALSO: The Heels have bigger goals than reaching the Final Four
Upsets are great, but top-quality matchups are better — Jonah Braun, The Badger Herald
Oklahoma‘s guards just couldn’t match their UNC counterparts — Joey Helmer, The Oklahoma Daily
ALSO: Mistakes got the Sooners sent home early
Analysis: 1 North Carolina def. 2 Oklahoma
1 North Carolina 72
2 Oklahoma 60
South Region final • FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
By Jeff Greer
– Presumed player of the year Blake Griffin won what was billed as a colossal battle against last year’s top player, Tyler Hansbrough. But Hansbrough’s side won the war. Stocked with great offensive players, the Tar Heels turned to Danny Green (18 points) and Deon Thompson (10) to help star point guard Ty Lawson carry the team’s scoring load. Lawson had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, showing no signs of the nagging toe injury that had slowed him in the earlier rounds.
From the Wire: Sunday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
UConn freshman Kemba Walker had his best game of the year — Marc Gauthier, The Daily Campus
ALSO: The Huskies aren’t taking victory souvenirs just yet
Start salivating now: Tyler Hansbrough vs. Blake Griffin — Jesse Baumgartner, The Daily Tar Heel
ALSO: North Carolina‘s shooters are finding their strokes again
Michigan State‘s Raymar Morgan will play with a face mask against Louisville
– Cash Kruth, The State News
Louisville wants a Final Four berth after falling one step short last year
– Cash Kruth, The State News
Mike Anderson was proud Missouri went out “fighting, scratching and clawing“
– Lenny Goldman, The Maneater
From the Wire: Saturday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
Raymar Morgan’s bruised face was evidence of Michigan State‘s battle against Kansas — Alex Altman, The State News
ALSO: The Spartans were calm at halftime despite trailing; Not “fragile” anymore; MSU hung in there
North Carolina was too much inside for the Zags — Jesse Baumgartner, The Daily Tar Heel
ALSO: The Tar Heels found it surprisingly easy
“You can’t do anything” when UNC plays like that, Gonzaga‘s Josh Heytvelt said — Steven Sandberg, The Gonzaga Bulletin
All season, it was clear Kansas would go only as far as Sherron Collins could carry them — Case Keefer, The University Daily Kansan
Blake Griffin had 30 and 14 as Oklahoma squeezed the Orange
– Daniel Martin, The Oklahoma Daily
Analysis: 2 Oklahoma def. 3 Syracuse
2 Oklahoma 84
3 Syracuse 71
South Region semifinals • FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
By Corey DeMoss
– Oklahoma led the entire game and put this one away early in the second half. After taking a 13-point lead into halftime, the Sooners exploded as the second half began, going on a 17-3 run. The Orange never got within 13 points for the rest of the game.
From the Wire: Friday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
UConn‘s Craig Austrie came up big after slumping recently — Kevin Duffy, The Daily Campus
ALSO: A quick start helped the Huskies go from Sweet to Elite
Duke‘s big three — Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer — had no answers for Villanova
– Sabreena Merchant, The Duke Chronicle
ALSO: Lapsing in all phases of the game, the Blue Devils went out with a thud
Missouri sure knows how to make things exciting
– Lenny Goldman, The Maneater
Memphis, like Kansas, did well to make it this far after so much offseason turnover — Kelly Breckunitch, The University Daily Kansan
Pitt‘s Levance Fields lived up to his “Mr. Big Shot” nickname
– Michael Gladysz, The Pitt News
Reporter Interview: Eric Dama on Oklahoma
You might have heard of this Blake Griffin fellow. He’s quite a ballplayer. Seemingly a shoo-in for NBA stardom, the 6-foot-10 forward leads Oklahoma into the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, but he’ll need help. As Eric Dama of the Oklahoma Daily explains, the Sooners rely on Willie Warren, Austin Johnson and others to hit outside shots to keep Griffin from becoming a one-man show.
From the Wire: Tuesday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
Jim Boeheim’s next win will be his 800th, all at Syracuse
– Michael Bonner, The Daily Orange
Looking good on the court is important for several Memphis players
– Megan Harris, The Daily Helmsman
Xavier has a long “to do” list to get Sean Miller a victory against Pitt, his alma mater
– Doug Tifft, The Xavier Newswire
Refs need to take a look at the pounding Oklahoma‘s Blake Griffin is receiving
– Jono Greco, The Oklahoma Daily
Breaking down the top mascots in the Sweet Sixteen — Marc Gauthier, The Daily Campus
Better Know a Baller: Willie Warren, Oklahoma
With apologies to Stephen Colbert, we present another in our 2,117-part series, “Better Know a Baller.”
Willie Warren
University of Oklahoma (bio — photos)
Freshman guard • 6-4, 207 • Fort Worth, Texas
Season stats: 14.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, .380 3pt%
– Former McDonald’s All-American and projected 2009 NBA lottery pick, but he says he’ll return for his sophomore season unless the Sooners win the national title. We’ll see if said promise holds; would be refreshing if it did.
– Has had to live down an attitude reputation, which includes various high school indiscretions and talking smack to Kobe Bryant at the NBA star’s elite summer camp. Kansas coach Bill Self says he’s as talented as any guard in college basketball right now, but Warren still knows he’s got some public image issues he needs to prove wrong.
