Oklahoma Takes Down Purdue in Overtime to Win NIT Season Tip-Off Title

The game hinged upon if outside shooting could trump an inside game. It worked for most of regulation for the Purdue Boilermakers, but the three-point shooting well ran dry late in the game, Robbie Hummell fouled out, and the Oklahoma Sooners rode the back of the Griffin family to victory in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship today.

With all the defensive attention inside on Blake Griffin -- and rightfully so -- his brother Taylor stepped up for the Sooners with a 19 point, seven rebound effort. Oh, don't worry; Blake got his, too, as he compiled 18 points and 22 rebounds, despite being double and triple-teamed routinely. Freshman guard Willie Warren threw in 22 points of his own, benefitting from the attention the inside game was getting.

At one point, Purdue led by nine and had hit half of their three point attempts. Alas, they missed their last seven attempts from behind the arc, and the points in the paint and free throw discrepancies caught up with them.

The Boilers attempted only five free throws all game. While there were a few questionable no-calls on Boiler shots, for the most part the lack of free throw attempts was due to the over-abundance of jump shots without penetration. Big man Nemaja Calasan did rack up 20 points, but most of his inside presence came late in the game, when the Boilers were forced to go inside due to their cold spell from three.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, played through the low-post all game with the Griffin brothers and ended up taking 46 free throws. Good God, when you look at the numbers ... I mean, that just seems wrong, doesn't it? The Sooners attempted 41 more free throws than the Boilers. Wow.

It was definitely an inside versus outside affair, as the free throws, big-man scoring numbers, and rebounds (Oklahoma held a 41-30 advantage on the boards) illustrate.

I believe the outcome would have been different had Hummell been able to stay on the court. Once he had fouled out, the Boilers just could not get E'Twaun Moore any open shots.

Either way, the Sooners are the winners of the NIT, and the schedule doesn't get any easier for Purdue. They host Duke Tuesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Sooners, on the other hand, get to savor this victory for almost a week before getting the chance to dismantle USC.