Sooner or Later

The Syracuse Orange will have plenty of work to do if they plan on making the Elite 8 this year. Because when the Orange take the court tonight, they will be matching up against one of the best college basketball players in the country, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin.

The Sooner sensation stands at 6-foot-10 and has been dominant all season long by scoring points and grabbing rebounds. Over the season, Griffin led all of college basketball in by recording 14.4 rebounds per game and was in the top 20 in scoring at 22.5 points per game.

Although unlikely, the orange may be able to limit Griffin’s minutes by getting him into early foul trouble. Griffin has fouled out of 3 games in his college career and when Oklahoma has played without him, they struggle.

In addition, the Orange zone will need to clamp down on the inside and force the other Sooners to beat them. The Orange will need to reduce Griffin’s impact if they hope to make it to the next round.

A win over the Sooners could lead to another national title as Oklahoma was just another stepping stone for the Orange in their 2003 championship run.