OU men's basketball notebook

Published: February 3, 2008

Oklahoma center Longar Longar was one of the Sooners' most effective scorers with nine points Saturday, but appeared to be bothered by a stress fracture that developed in his lower right leg more than three weeks ago.

Longar has been limited in practice the last two weeks, but is not expected to miss any games.

The 6-foot-11 senior was 4-of-7 Saturday but contributed little else before fouling out in the final minute. He matched season-lows with two rebounds and 16 minutes played.

•At the line: The Sooners have struggled at the free throw line in Big 12 play, hitting just 65.0 percent of their attempts (76-of-117).

"It's hard to win games when free throws are 20-4 in the second half,” OU coach Jeff Capel said. "I guess we have to do a better job of playing without fouling. We didn't play any different than we have since conference play started.”

A&M hit 23 of 30 free throws Saturday, while OU was 8-of-13. Capel did not believe the free-throw disparity should be credited to a lack of aggressiveness by his team.

"I thought we were aggressive. We just didn't get to the line,” he said. "Tough calls, some of them.”

•Crocker struggles: OU's Tony Crocker was unable to get his offensive game going Saturday. The sophomore guard was 1-of-9 from the field, finishing with three points, two rebounds, four turnovers and no assists.

•Big minutes: Capel believed freshman Blake Griffin might have been tired in the final minutes after playing 38 minutes, which matches his most since playing 42 in the double-overtime win against West Virginia Dec. 29. Griffin had not played more than 27 minutes in a game since suffering a sprained knee Jan. 14.

"He's not 100 percent yet, especially in conditioning, after missing 12 days where he didn't do anything,” Capel said. "He'll be good for us down the stretch.”

Playing time is becoming a concern for the entire team. Capel again used just seven players. Griffin, David Godbold, and Austin Johnson each played 38 minutes, including the entire second half.

•Three straight: The win was Texas A&M's third straight after losing three in a row. It was also the Aggies' third straight win over OU and fourth all-time. OU leads the series 25-4.

•Nice shoes: As most coaches around the country were doing Saturday, the OU coaches wore tennis shoes with their suits during the game as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer salute.

Nike provided specially designed shoes for Capel and his staff. They were throwback-style, red and white leather low-tops with "Oklahoma” stitched in the side near the heel.

By Scott Wright

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