Sooners in Control at Half
BIRMINGHAM - As I said earlier, the first half was a battle to 30 and Oklahoma won. The Sooners went on a 14-2 run to close out the half. They lead St. Joe's 34-22.
The Hawks have committed 8 turnovers in the game, and that was a big part of its offensive struggles. They never seemed comfortable. They haven't played bad defense, but it's easy to get behind when you can't score. Those 8 turnovers led to 14 OU points.
Rob Ferguson WAS the offense for St. Joe's with 13 points. Ahmad Nivins had a couple of nice baskets inside to post 6, but as of now, Ferguson was the only Hawk that decided to get off the bus.
OU has a balanced attack with Longar Longar leading the way with 8 poins. Stud freshman post man Blake Griffin posted 7 points, including the a fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired and with just 3 seconds on the game clock.
David Godbold and Austin Johnson have connected from long range, but the Sooners have yet to pose a consistent threat there. Their bread and butter is in the post, and was where they went for most of their offense in the first half. Twenty of OU's points have come in the paint compared to just 6 for the Hawks.
As you might have imagined by my words above, St. Joe's leading scorer Pat Calathes has been non-existent.
