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Griffin, No. 2 Oklahoma overpower Michigan

Player of year candidate has 33 points, 17 rebounds in 73-63 victory

Oklahoma Sooners starters Warren, T. Griffin, B. Griffin and Crocker cheer on their team during the second half of the Sooners' win over the Morgan State Bears in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Kansas CityReuters
Oklahoma starters (from left to right) Willie Warren, Taylor Griffin, Blake Griffin and Tony Crocker cheer on their teammates during the closing moments of the Sooners' 73-63 victory over Michigan on Saturday.

But because Griffin commands so much attention, the rest of the players get plenty of good looks at the basket from the perimeter. Usually those shots go to Willie Warren and Austin Johnson and when they’re hitting, the Sooners are nearly unbeatable.

This was one of those nights.

Warren, the flashy freshman, and Johnson hurt the Wolverines when they collapsed in on Griffin, combining to hit six of 13 from 3-point range. Warren had 16 points, Johnson 12 and Griffin’s older brother, Taylor, hit some key shots in a gritty 38 minutes.

“The main reason I was successful was because of how our guards played and everyone else played,” Griffin said. “It makes it real easy on me because they have to spread out a little bit, they can’t just sink in.”

Michigan shot well early and was able to hang on through the first half despite deep foul trouble that came from trying to stop Griffin.

Point guard Manny Harris played just five minutes in the half because of two fouls and three other players — Sims, Novak and C.J. Lee — also picked up two fouls. The Wolverines got a lift from Wright, a career 3.9-point scorer who had 12 points, and were still within 30-29 at halftime despite scoring one point over the final 4 minutes.

Michigan continued its shooting drought, going scoreless over the first 3½ minutes of the second half to fall behind by 13, but rallied to cut the Sooners’ lead to 58-55 with just over two minutes left.

Griffin was just too much.

He scored on a putback and hit two free throws to put the Sooners up 64-57 with 4½ minutes left, then sealed the victory two minutes later with yet another power move through a double team.

“He’s a great player,” Lee said. “He showed it today, he’s been showing it all season.”

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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