Sooners End SU's Tournament Run

Friday, March 27

Memphis, TN

7:27 p.m.

Syracuse University

Oklahoma

Jonny Flynn scored in double figures for the 36th time this season against Oklahoma.

3/27/2009 9:40:45 PM | Men's Basketball

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Oklahoma 84, Syracuse 71| Press Conference Transcript
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MEMPHIS – Syracuse's 2008-09 season came to an end on Friday, March 27 as second-seeded Oklahoma defeated the third-seeded Orange, 84-71, in the first South Region semifinal at the FedExForum. Syracuse finished the year with a 28-10 overall record.

For the Orange, sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn (www.suathletics.com/jonny) led the way with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He also had six assists. It was Flynn's 36th double-digit scoring performance of the year, which ranks third on SU's season record list. Flynn finished the season with 254 assists, the fifth-best total in the Orange's season annals.

Junior Andy Rautins was SU's only other double-figure scorer with 12 points Friday. He netted a team-best three treys against the Sooners.

Oklahoma (30-5) led the entire game and got standout performances from Rupp Award winner Blake Griffin and Tony Crocker to key the victory. The duo combined for 58 of the Sooners' 84 points. Griffin had 30 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Crocker tallied a career-best 28 points, including six three's.

Crocker's 3-point barrage paced a Sooners' club that connected on 42.9 percent (9-21) of its long range attempts in the game. Overall, Oklahoma was 32-of-59 from the field (.542).

The Sooners got off to a fast start against the Orange, connecting on their first two field goal attempts, and opening up a 6-0 lead before a dunk by sophomore Rick Jackson got SU on the board at the 17:26 mark of the opening half. Oklahoma extended its advantage to eight points on three occasions over the next five and a half minutes. But with the score 14-6 Sooners, the Orange fought back as Flynn and junior Arinze Onuaku combined to score all 11 points in an 11-4 SU run that brought the Orange within one, 18-17, with 6:55 left in the first half.

The Sooners were unfazed by the Syracuse scoring spurt and responded with a 10-2 run of their own to claim a nine-point margin, 28-19, at the 3:14 mark. Crocker started the scoring spree when he made three free throws after being fouled by junior Eric Devendorf while shooting a three. Flynn scored the game's next five points to get Syracuse within four, 28-24, but Oklahoma responded again, outscoring the Orange, 11-2, in final two minutes to take a 39-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Oklahoma continued to build on its margin in the second half, scoring the first nine points of the period to extend its overall run to 20-2 and secure a 22-point lead, 48-26. A Flynn triple at the 17:31 mark briefly halted the Sooners' run, but a bucket by Taylor Griffin and a pair of Crocker three's gave Oklahoma its largest lead of the game, 56-29, with 15:10 left in regulation.

Syracuse closed to within 14, 78-64, at the 5:21 mark on consecutive treys by Rautins, a three-point play by freshman Kris Joseph, and another Rautins' three. However, Blake Griffin netted the game's next six points and the Orange never seriously threatened the Sooners the rest of the way.

Poor shooting from the perimeter and turnovers doomed the Orange. Syracuse made just 29.2 percent (9-24) of its 3-point attempts after making 45 percent (9-20) of its triple tries in its second-round win against Arizona State. The Orange was 0-for-10 from long range in the first half against Oklahoma. Syracuse also turned it over 18 times leading to 32 Sooner points.

Onuaku and junior Paul Harris contributed a team-best six rebounds for Syracuse. Onuaku scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor and finished the year as SU's all-time leader in season field goal percentage (.667, 178-267).

The Orange played a school-record 38 games for the fourth time in 2008-09. SU also played 38 games in 1995-96 (29-9), 1988-89 (30-8) and 1986-87 (31-7). Flynn was the only Orange player to start all 38 contests, joining 11 other SU standouts with 38 starts in a single campaign.

With the victory, the Sooners advanced to Sunday's regional final where it will meet either North Carolina or Gonzaga. In the process, they also denied Orange head coach Jim Boeheim his 800th career victory. Boeheim was attempting to become the eighth Division I coach in NCAA history to win 800 games. His current record stands at 799-288 (.735).