Sun, Sep 07 2008
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Published March 23, 2008 12:55 am - Sooners play for trip to Sweet 16 John Shinn The Norman Transcript BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Oklahoma won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2005 Friday. So the pressure’s off, right?
In some ways, yes. The sixth-seeded Sooners (23-11) will try to advance to the Sweet 16 with a victory over third-seeded Louisville (25-8) at 4 p.m. today in the second round of the East Regional at AJCC Arena. For a team that was never ranked in the Associated Press nor the coaches’ Top 25 all season, reaching the second round is a remarkable accomplishment. But for one of the few times all season, OU didn’t look like a team playing with the weight of the world on its shoulders Friday night against Saint Joseph’s. Fighting injuries, fighting to rise in the Big 12 Conference standings and fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament was a brawl the Sooners went through daily over the last two months. Yet Friday there was no fight, just a game to win. “Last night, we were just having fun out on the court,” forward Taylor Griffin said. “It’s amazing how that can affect your performance when you’re having fun.” The statistics bear it out. OU shot 57.1 percent for the game, marking their best shooting effort since hitting at a 60-percent rate in the second game of the season against Denver. Even when Saint Joseph’s made a second-half run to get back in the game, panic never set in. OU just executed the stretch and pulled away. Playing loose definitely has it’s advantages. Rarely have coaches even said their team isn’t tight enough. It will face the same situation again today, but they’ll be going against a much better team. “We know that they’re a great team, they’re not going to overlook anybody, no matter if they were a six or if we were a three,” OU’s David Godbold said. “We just have to be the same way and we just have to want it more.” The Cardinals, who’ve won 10 of their last 12 games, tied for second in the Big East and have been ranked all season, are the clear-cut favorites to move on to Thursday night’s regional semifinals in Charlotte, N.C. 
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