Sooners Blast Their Way Into the Elite 8.

A victory over the Syracuse Orange, 84-71, has officially propelled the Oklahoma Sooners into the Elite Eight.

The Orange never had an answer for the combined scoring efforts of OU's Blake Griffin and Tony Crocker.

Griffin had 30 points and 14 rebounds added to his extensive resume last night. He became the first player since 1969's Mike Maloy of Davidson to record 25 points and 10 rebounds in the first rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Crocker also contributed 28 points to the sooners ending score of 84, overcoming his previous slump of only scoring eight in the first two rounds.

Syracuse appeared to have come out too relaxed for their own good, missing their first 10 3-pointer attempts and ending the game 7 for 24. They also let the ball slip from their hands into the Sooners' 18 times.

There are some slight qualms in the Sooner Nation over the health of Blake Griffin, who came down favoring his noggin after banging it on the backboard during a dunk. We will see if that has any effect on the OU forward when the Sooners move on to play the University of North Carolina Tar Heels Sunday at 5:05 EST.

The Orange's Jonny Flynn led his team with 22 points despite playing in the second half with a back bruise after a block attempt gone sour against Blake Griffin.

Stay Tuned....