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Oklahoma players Andrew Fitzgerald, T.J. Franklin and Ray Willis watch the final seconds of OU's loss Wednesday, March 10, 2010, to Oklahoma State in a first round game of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. Photo by Jerry Laizure
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Capel not happy; Sooners finish first losing season since 1980-81
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Oklahoma wants to find a point where it hit rock bottom, the floor at Sprint Center where it landed with an awful thud Wednesday night should do it.
The Sooners truly did save their worst for last in a 81-67 loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
OU, which finished the season at 13-18, had talked this week about the conference tournament being a new start, or at least a chance to wipe the slate clean after losing eight straight games to end the regular season.
Less then seven minutes into Wednesday’s game OU trailed its Bedlam rival 20-2.
“That really set us back. We tried to fight back in the second half, and did a good job chipping away little by little. But it was too much, “ OU guard Cade Davis said. “We dug ourselves too deep a hole.”
The Sooners wrapped up their first losing season since 1980-81 Wednesday and continued to be fatally flawed on the defensive end.
OSU (22-9) shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56), becoming the eighth straight team to make last half its shots against OU.
The last 33 minutes were more for show and some resemblance of pride.
The Sooners never got their deficit under double digits, but did at least make it competitive in the second half.
Tommy Mason-Griffin scored 22 points to lead the Sooners. Steven Pledger added 18 points and Tiny Gallon added 12.
The Cowboys (22-9) advanced to face Kansas State in the tournament quarterfinals at 6 p.m. today.
The Sooners’ season is over. They’ll complete a year without a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2007, but just the second time in the last 29 years.
OU coach Jeff Capel was asked if he was glad to see it over with.
“No, I’m not,” he said. “And if I ever get to that point, (OU athletic director) Joe (Castiglione) or whoever is my AD, should fire me, if I ever get to the point I’m relieved it’s over. Or I will just walk away, because I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. I was maybe crazy enough to believe that we could come here and win the Big 12 tournament.”
The Sooners’ offseason begins today. Capel admits he doesn’t know what his roster will look like next season. Willie Warren, who didn’t play the final five games due to ankle injury, is contemplating entering the NBA draft. After the game, Mason-Griffin said he would sit down with Capel and discuss his options.
“I’ll sit down with Coach Capel and have conversations about certain things. That’s going to determine what I’m going to do,” he said. “Pretty much right now, I am (coming back).”
Capel concedes Warren might be ready to make the jump, but almost laughed at the idea of any of his freshmen thinking they’re ready.
“It’s an insult to players in the NBA for anyone on our team … for anyone to think that those guys are NBA players right now,” he said. “They possibly can be at some point, but not right now.”
If they were, OU wouldn’t have been blasted out of Sprint Center in the first seven minutes Wednesday. And OU wouldn’t have finished the season with a nine-game losing streak or five games under .500.
But the Sooners certainly did.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
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