Texas Stops Griffin-less Oklahoma

All the hype prior to Saturday night's primetime showdown between Texas and Oklahoma was focused on superstar Sooners forward Blake Griffin, but in the end it was two guards who stole the show, with Texas' sharpshooter getting the last laugh.

Griffin suffered an apparent concussion after taking an elbow to the nose midway through the first half, and didn't play at all in the second period, finishing with just two points on the night. The Longhorns went on a run right after the break to go up 12, but for a while it looked like freshman Oklahoma guard Willie Warren would be the star of the night, as he hit four threes in a 3:28 span to put OU up five.

A.J. Abrams had other ideas though, and in the final twist of the night he scored 16 straight Longhorns points, putting his team in position to hold on for a 73-68 victory.

Texas took a 34-29 lead into halftime, and a 5-0 run coming out of the break put them up 12. But then Oklahoma's offense, even without its star, came to life, led by Warren and junior Tony Crocker. The former finished with 27 points, including 17 in the second half. Among them were a deep three that he banked home with the shot clock running down, and one he incredibly made while hobbling on a busted ankle, falling down in pain as it swished through the net.

That final shot could've been devastating for the Longhorns, who desperately needed this game, but Abrams wouldn't let that happen. The battle-tested guard had a quiet first half, with just five points; Damion James was the star for Texas for most of the night, with 16 points and 10 boards, seven of them on the offensive end, before fouling out with 2:35 to go.

Abrams dominated the game down the stretch though, with 18 points in the game's last 8:02. The senior has played with an incredible amount of talent -- including LaMarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin -- in his Texas career, but with all of them having moved onto the NBA, he's become the focal point of the Longhorns' offense. For a large part of their disappointing season that's been a problem, but it certainly wasn't tonight, as he was unstoppable from the perimeter down the stretch.

Oklahoma may have lost, but, given the circumstances, this was probably one of their most impressive performances of the year. Playing in Austin without the best player in the nation is tough to do, and the only thing that could stop the Sooners from coming away with a win was a ridiculous streak from one of the world's best shooters. Warren, a leading candidate for freshman of the year, was very impressive, and Crocker also stepped up with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The Sooners are going to have to get over this loss quickly, as they have a surprisingly good Kansas team coming into Norman on Monday night. Griffin's status for that game is currently unknown

This was a huge win for the Longhorns, who were getting dangerously close to bubble territory after losing four of six. They're now 7-5 in the Big 12, and with non-conference wins over UCLA, Villanova and Wisconsin, they'll be back in the tournament, barring an unforeseen collapse.