The Madness Begins Cont.

The 7th seed Oklahoma State Cowboys upset the 2nd seed Oklahoma Sooners:
Oklahoma State knocked their in-state rivals out of the conference tournament with a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the game. The game went back and forth for both halves but ended when Sooners star forward Blake Griffin fouled the Cowboys guard James Anderson with 2.3 seconds remaining. Oklahoma had one final chance as they were able to find Griffin at the 3-point line but his shot didn't fall. The Sooners played a sloppy game overall ending with 19 turnovers, almost twice as many as Oklahoma State.

What this means for Oklahoma State? The Cowboys were probably in the NCAA tournament before yesterday's win and are now firmly off the 'bubble'. Oklahoma State is in the 8-10 seed range right now. If they win the Big 12 Championship they could finish as high as 5th, and one more victory can get them out of the 8-9 match-up that would have to face a number 1 seed in round two.

What this means for Oklahoma? The Sooners were the favorites to secure the 4th number 1 seed, behind UNC, Pitt and UConn, coming into the Conference tournaments. Oklahoma wasn't a sure thing they would have had to at least make it to the Conference finals and possibly win it to secure the spot but it seemed well within reach. The Sooners had dominated the Big 12 all year, only losing two of their three conference games when Griffin was injured. Now they've lost 2 of their last 3 games with their star forward. Oklahoma is now out of number 1 seed contention and could fall down to a 3 seed.