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NCAA Tournament Preview: #2 Oklahoma vs #3 Syracuse
It may be appropriate that the South regional is in a building that is named for a company – FedEx – where deliveries are the objective.
There should be a lot of those when the South regional starts Friday in Memphis. All four teams in North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oklahoma and Syracuse have been delivering a lot of wins and points for their fans. The teams have combined for nearly 30 wins apiece and have great players to lead them.
Oklahoma has the likely national player of the year in Blake Griffin. North Carolina has the ACC’s all-time leading scorer in Tyler Hansbrough. Syracuse has arguably the most conditioned player in the country in Jonny Flynn. Gonzaga has one of the most underrated players in the country in Josh Heytvelt.
Put that all together and fans should have some fun this weekend watching four very athletic teams fight to get to Detroit.
South
FedEx Forum, Memphis
No. 2 Oklahoma (29-5) vs. No. 3 Syracuse (28-9)
Time/Day/TV: 7:27 EDT/Friday/CBS
Oklahoma Road to the Final Four: D. No. 15 Morgan State, 82-54 D. No. 10 Michigan, 73-63
Syracuse Road to the Final Four: D. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, 59-44 D. No. 6 Oklahoma State, 78-67
Oklahoma leading scorers: Blake Griffin 22.5, Willie Warren 14.7
Oklahoma Moment of Truth: When Michigan cut the Sooners’ lead to 58-55 with 6:02 to play, the Sooners outscored them, 15-8 to end the game.
Syracuse leading scorers: Jonny Flynn 17.3, Eric Devendorf 15.9, Paul Harris 12.2
Syracuse Moment of Truth: The Orangemen have pretty much been in control of both of their games thus far. They controlled the pace and received great play from Flynn.
Key Matchup: Syracuse zone vs. Griffin. The famous Orangemen’s zone will pack it in against Griffin to try and deny him as many touches as possible. That will put pressure on the Oklahoma guards in Warren, Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker to be shot makers. If they do that, then the Sooners can win.
Who Wins and Why: Syracuse. The Orangemen are playing very well and Flynn is playing great basketball. The zone will frustrate Griffin to the point where he won’t get his usual 20 points and 15 rebounds. He’ll probably get another double double but not with the numbers fans expect. Watch for Syracuse 3-point specialist Andy Rautins to make an impact. Make no mistake that this is one of the top matchups in the Sweet 16.
> Check out the great selection ofOklahoma Sooners apparel & clothing
By: Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer
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