Jayhawks-Sooners: Kansas Downs the Blake Griffin-less Squad

Oklahoma came into this game without its superstar Blake Griffin, and Kansas took full advantage.

The Sooners started out strong, contending with the Jayhawks until late in the first half. At the break, Kansas had a 36-29 lead.

Kansas broke it open with about 13 minutes left in the game, as it led Oklahoma by 18. However, the Sooners came close to tying the Jayhawks down the stretch, closing the gap to 66-62.

But from there it was all Sherron Collins, as the KU guard finished with 17 points in the last six minutes.

Most believed that if the Sooners were to win this game, it would be due to outstanding play from Willie Warren. Well, Warren definitely did his part, scoring a team-high 23 points, though four turnovers did hurt him.

Blake’s brother, Taylor Griffin, was the only other Sooner starter in double figures with 11 points. He also pulled down six rebounds.

Juan Pattillo, who had 15 points off the bench, had an opportunity to throw down a thunderous dunk to bring the game back down to four points, but missed the slam.

Guard Tyshawn Taylor led Kansas with 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting.

The Jayhawks really made Oklahoma miss Griffin when they gave the ball to their center Cole Aldrich. Without Griffin, Aldrich had 15 points and 20 boards against the then No. 2 team in the land.

With Blake healthy, I think the Sooners would have wrapped up the Big 12 here tonight. But now they will have to count on Jayhawk losses to either Texas Tech or Texas, while winning both of their games against Oklahoma State and Missouri.

Oklahoma just dropped from No. 2 in the country, according to the ESPN/USA Today poll, to No. 3, and may be in line to drop further due to its poor outing tonight.