Blake Griffin, All-American. The Beast

of the Midwest.

For weeks many had joked about what perhaps the nation's best player would do to the Arkansas Razorbacks' front line when the No. 4 rated Oklahoma Sooners visited Walton Arena.

Who knows if the Hogs heard those jokes? If they did, it certainly motivated them.

The 10-1 Razorbacks did not back away from the challenge the Sooners or Griffin presented Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

They stood up to it and pulled off one of the biggest Razorback wins in recent memory.

No matter what happens the rest of the season, the 96-88 victory will be well remembered by all Hog fans who attended or watched on TV.

Griffin, who scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, is as good as advertised and the Sooners deserve their No. 4 ranking.

But it was the Hogs' night.

Razorback coach John Pelphrey had his team primed to pull off the upset, and every Hog played his part.

But it was the Razorbacks maligned front court that set the tone early with Herculean play in executing a fine game plan.

Often the best way to attack a great player is to go right at him, and that's exactly what the Razorbacks did to Griffin with M2, the Michaels Washington and Sanchez.

No doubt, Washington, a junior from McGehee, and Sanchez, a freshman from Springdale, had read, heard and seen the dominance that Griffin, who owned averages of 23 ppg. and 14.1 rpg. going into the game, brings to the floor.

Many players would have been intimidated by all that information, but it lit a fire under M2.

Sanchez scored 12 and grabbed 6 rebounds, while Washington led Arkansas with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

There was not a bit of hesitation from either Hog big man as they went to work inside without fear.

Griffin actually seemed to be the timid one early on as he appeared fearful of fouling in the hostile environment.

While he never dominated the game as many supposed he would, there were glimpses of his ability throughout the night. A sweet one-handed push shot over Marcus Monk with 10:08 to play as part of a 15-0 OU run or swatting away too casual shots and the fact the Sooners trust the 6-10 big man with the ball against the press are a few examples.

It was actually the 3-point stroke of Tony Crocker that harmed the Hogs most. After the Razorbacks took a 72-47 lead with 11:49 to play, the slim yet sinewy 6-6 guard bombarded the Razorbacks with four treys in a row that helped cut the UA lead to 72-63 with 9:05 to play.

Former football player Marcus Monk quelled the OU streak with four consecutive free throws for a 74-63 lead with 7:44 to play.

But the die was cast. The Razorbacks would have to fight as hard to hold on to the potential upset as they did to build their bulging early lead.

Three consecutive turnovers around the 5 minute mark all but evaporated the Razorbacks' double-digit lead.

With 4:25 to play the Sooners had inched within 83-79 and the youthful Razorbacks' play began to tighten. The shots that fell easily in the first half rimmed out. The rebounds snared surely earlier were suddenly contested.

But, Oklahoma played it cool. They had been tested in hostile environments before and after whittling away at Arkansas' lead, they weren't going away easily at crunch time.

But neither was Washington. He scored two baskets - one off a beautiful Fortson assist - and hit two of four free throws, willing the Hogs ahead 88-81 with 1:10 to play.

A defensive clamp down on Griffin with :58 to play, though, all but secured the game. Sanchez leaned all of his 240 pounds on Griffin in the post as the big Sooner tried to back him inside. So concerned with Sanchez, Griffin lost focus and Fortson slipped in to strip him of the ball.

From there all the Hogs needed to lock up the win was hit their free throws. And that they did for a sweet and well-earned 96-88 victory.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.