OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Once Oklahoma got past the vomit, the strained groin and the broken wrist, things went fairly well in their first-round NCAA Tournament game.
Victory wasn't the issue in the Sooners' 71-54 decision over South Carolina State. Oklahoma safely kept the No. 1 seeds' record over No. 16 seeds unblemished -- now 74-0 with Arizona's victory over Vermont.
It was the health of the Sooners that was more important as the outcome became apparent. They led by as many as 33 despite star guard Hollis Price playing only 11 minutes, starting center Kevin Bookout limited to only nine minutes because of strep throat and forward Ebi Ere playing with a broken left wrist.
"Coach didn't want me to play that much anyway," Price said after his only shot of the game resulted in a 3-pointer. Three points is the senior's fewest in at least the past two seasons.
Price continues to be bothered by a strained groin he suffered Sunday while guarding Missouri's Rickey Paulding in the Big 12 title game. His condition now is developing into one of the biggest stories of the tournament. The Sooners need Price, a national player of the year candidate, if they are going to duplicate last year's Final Four run.
Bookout, a freshman, came into the game with the strep and didn't do himself any favors by playing. He obviously was weakened, taking only one shot and attempting two free throws. He missed all three.
"That's when I knew something (was wrong)," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He was sick. As soon as we took him out of the game he started throwing up. If he had missed another shot, I would have thrown up."
After the game, Bookout didn't look any better. His best friends were two nearby bottles of prescription pills. Despite the broken wrist, Ere is in better shape. The break is not on his shooting side and is protected by a brace. Ere was able to play 27 minutes but made only two of 14 shots, scoring nine points.
Price remains the focal point. Trainer Alex Brown continues to bombard the guard with anti-inflammatories, therapy and stretching to get him healthy for Saturday's second-round game against No. 8 seed Cal. The Bears gutted out a 76-74 overtime victory over North Carolina State.
"I'm limited right now," Price said. "It's both laterally and explosiveness. I'm a player that uses my speed a lot. There are a lot of guys probably stronger than me but I couldn't use my speed today."
Price got two quick fouls Thursday but re-entered the game only to check out permanently before halftime. Sophomore Blake Johnston filled in for Price, scoring a career-high 15 points and tying a career high with six assists. Ten Sooners played at least five minutes.
"I knew Hollis wasn't going to play a lot today," Sampson said. "Once we got off to a 10-12 point lead, and our big guys became more active, and Blake was playing well, I said I'm not going to play him unless I have to."
Against a 16th seed, he didn't have to.
Crunch-time clarification
With 34 seconds left in overtime as North Carolina State played California, there was a lengthy delay when official Jim Burr checked a television monitor. He correctly determined that a Wolfpack shot had indeed touched the rim, meaning the shot clock was turned off for the final 34 seconds. At the time, the game was tied 71-71.
"By rule, we can check the monitor if we think there is a timing error," Burr said through a pool reporter. "When we looked at the replay, we determined the shot clock should have been reset because the ball hit the rim."
What caused the delay was that CBS had problems getting the replay for Burr.
"The (production) truck couldn't call it up," Burr said
The shot clock was turned off, meaning North Carolina State could have played for the last shot. But following the stoppage, North Carolina State's Clifford Crawford was called for traveling while trying to inbound the ball. Crawford shuffled his feet while looking for an open man standing to the side of his team's basket.
Cal got the ball on change of possession and Bears forward Brian Wethers was fouled. He made both shots putting the Bears up 73-71. Cal eventually won on guard Richard Midgley's 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.
Rock Choke, Almost
Kansas avoided the fifth upset ever by a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 seed. Barely.
Utah State's Cardell Butler had the game in his hands, misfiring a 3 as time ran out allowing the Jayhawks to escape 64-61.
What was more important to Kansas fans in the aftermath is why leading 3-point shooter Kirk Hinrich only launched four, and Kansas shot only six for the game. The Jayhawks average more than 14 3s per game.
The Aggies (24-9) threw up a zone that frustrated Kansas (26-7) the entire game. If not for Keith Langford's 22 points and Nick Collison's 18, Kansas might lost a first-round game for the first time in 20 tries.
"Needless to say we feel very, very fortunate," coach Roy Williams said.
Dribbles
- With 24 points against N.C. State, Cal's Joe Shipp now has scored in double figures in 36 straight games.
- Cal coach Ben Braun won a school-record 11th postseason game. Since 1993, the Bears are 9-3 in the postseason. They won the 1999 NIT. Cal is 10-3 in NCAA Tournament opening-round games.
- N.C. State's starters scored 72 of the team's 74 points. The Wolfpack bench only contributed 9.9 points per game this season.
- Bruce Hicks, an official in the South Carolina State-Oklahoma game, has a son in the Air Force stationed in Kuwait.
- After scoring 20 points and getting 13 rebounds, Memphis' Chris Massie ended his career with 27 double-doubles.
- Arizona State's Ike Diogu scored in double figures (22 points) for a school-record 31st consecutive game. The freshman has never scored less than 10 points.
