Oklahoma - St Joes Preview

East- Round One
Oklahoma Sooners (6) Vs. Saint Joseph’s Hawks (11)
Friday, March 21 @ 9:40 pm

One of the many reps from the Big 12 this year is the Oklahoma Sooners (9- 7 Big 12, 22- 11 overall). The team finished tied for fourth in their conference, which was quite an accomplishment considering the injuries suffered by two of their key frontcourt players—Blake Griffin and Longar Longar.

Most of the scoring comes from the guys in up front. Griffin (15.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG) is the team’s top scorer and rebounder. Both he and Longar (11.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG) connect on about 60% of their shots. Additionally, the two combine for an average of 1.3 SPG and 1.9 BPG. In the backcourt, Tony Crocker (11.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.0 APG) is the Sooners best three-point threat (44%). But for Oklahoma, it comes down to defense. The Sooners don’t blow teams out of the building, they control them and the game.

The Hawks of Saint Joseph’s (9- 7 A-10, 21- 12 overall) have certainly had their up and downs, looking like a dynamite team one moment and like a cellar dweller the next. But in the end, the Hawks made it to the A-10 finals, where they lost a tough one 69- 64 to a second-half surging Temple club.

The worry for this team concerns its defense. The Hawks can score, there’s no doubt about that, but stopping other teams from putting the ball through the basket is a whole other thing.

The solid frontcourt includes swingman Pat Calathes (17.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG) and forwards Ahmad Nivins (14.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG) and Rob Ferguson (11.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG). Calathes and Ferguson, both seniors, are tough to defend and they shoot 40% and 44%, respectively, from the perimeter. Nivins controls the inside game.

The Sooners’ fine defense versus the Hawks’ high flying offense—this should be an interesting game.