By John Shinn
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Don’t blink tonight. According to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, you may miss a basket.
The longtime coach said tonight’s NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal between Oklahoma and the Orange has a chance to produce offensive fireworks.
“If both teams play well, it will be a pretty big offensive game,” he said.
The Orange lead the Big East Conference in scoring this season at 81.1 points per game. The Sooners are averaging 79.1.
That would be an incredible turnaround from the last time the teams met. OU fell to Syracuse, 63-47, in the East Regional finals in 2003. OU couldn’t consistently make outside shots against a compacted Orange zone and its bid for a second straight trip to the Final Four was over.
Boeheim is the only person still around from that previous meeting, but Capel isn’t predicting a slow game either.
“When our offense is clicking, we feel like we can be that way, too,” he said. “When we make shots from the perimeter, that opens things down low even more for Blake. We feel like we’re a team that we can get in transition and make some plays. So … it could be.”
Offense hasn’t been a problem for OU this season. It has scored at least 61 points in every game and at least 68 in all five of its losses.
Defense will likely be the key for it getting back to the Elite Eight.
“They’re a very dangerous team,” OU guard Willie Warren said. “They like to get out and run. But it’s all stuff we’ve seen in the Big 12 Conference.”
Comparisons
OU’s Blake Griffin said Syracuse wasn’t really comparable with any team the Sooners faced in the Big 12 Conference this season. The Orange have five players averaging over 10 points a game. They also have size in the paint with three players taller than 6-foot-9.
“The closest we could compare them to is maybe Texas A&M; because they have two pretty big guys down low,” Griffin said. “I don’t think anybody is as big and as strong as they are that we’ve faced.”
Intensity rises
None of OU’s players have gone this far in the NCAA Tournament. None had ever played past the first weekend.They’ve felt the intensity rise through the week.
“I think it’s just even more of a do-or-die situation,” Blake Griffin said. “You get to the Sweet 16, obviously there’s 16 teams left and everybody’s fighting for those spots.”
Taylor Griffin said he knew it when he went to practice Monday and about four times as many media members than usual were there.
“You know it’s time to step up to the highest level,” he said.
Carry the load?
Blake Griffin is the best player in college basketball, but he doesn’t believe he has to carry his team .
“I haven’t done anything by myself this whole year, and I never will,” he said. “As long as I play, there’s going to be teammates around that are capable. I think one of the biggest things is really trusting everybody.”
Perhaps it was just the power forward’s way of deflecting some of the attention toward his teammates. Capel, however, said his star player has to carry the Sooners to get past Syracuse and possibly to the Final Four.
“One of the things I talked to Blake about before this tournament started was he’s going to have to carry us and he’s going to have to be the example,” Capel said. “I said you may have to put your arms around these guys and carry them with you. You may have to push them, whatever it is you have to do.”
Don’t hate?
Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf has drawn the ire of just about every non-Syracuse fan in the Big East Conference. The junior guard, who set a Big East Tournament record with 84 points in four games, is one of the most hated players in college basketball. Orange point guard Jonny Flynn said his teammate’s reputation isn’t warranted.
“Eric is a great guy. I think he’s misunderstood to the 10th power,” Flynn said. “He’s an emotional guy and plays with so emotional energy on the court, some people take that as a negative thing.”
Or it could have something to do with Devendorf punching a female Syracuse student in the face the morning of Nov. 1, 2008. Devendorf was never charged with a crime, but a Syracuse Judicial Board suspended him for the season. The board’s ruling was later modified. He he suspended for two games.
No apology
Boeheim was on the Team USA board that cut Blake Griffin from the under 18 team in 2006. Thursday he said he didn’t need to apologize for the slight.
“He shouldn’t have made the team. He was hurt,” Boeheim said. “I had one vote out of 10. I’m not going to say that I voted against him either. In fact, I’d say I voted for him right now. I would say that if I had to reveal my vote.”
The Syracuse coach did say he thought Griffin was the best player in college basketball.
