Oklahoma Prepares for Syracuse Sweet Sixteen Match-up

If Jim Boeheim is successful for just one reason, it's for patenting his famed 2-3 zone defense with all of his teams over his 799 career wins.

But Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, the top rebounder in the nation, isn't phased at all, believing that the Orange zone defense won't pose any more of a challenge than a generic man-to-man defense.

"As long as you pick and choose your spots well and find open areas, and your guards get you the ball in the right spot, it might be easier," said Griffin.

Of course, it helps knowing that Oklahoma coach Jim Capel actually took some notes from Boeheim himself - or, rather, videotapes he had made.

"We actually took a couple of things that he talked about [that] hurt their zones and we added that in our zone offense," Capel said. "You're going against the architect of it, so I don't know how much it will help us now."

The No. 2 Sooners (29-5) and the No. 3 Orange (28-9) will go head-to-head in a South Regional semifinal on Friday night in Memphis, Tenn.