Southeast Regional at Atlanta : Oklahoma Turns Up a King and Routs Auburn

Oklahoma couldn’t match Auburn’s rebounding power, so Stacey King found a way around it. He seldom missed.

King scored 37 points, and the fourth-ranked Sooners overwhelmed the Tigers, 107-87, Saturday in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament’s Southeast Regional.

Oklahoma (32-3) will play Louisville Thursday in the regional semifinals at Birmingham, Ala.

King helped the Sooners offset Auburn’s 57-39 rebounding edge by making 14 of 22 shots and added 9 of 12 free throws.

“We shot the ball well (54%) and anytime we do that, we’re gonna be extremely hard to beat,” King said. “Going into the game, I wouldn’t have thought we would have won by that margin. I thought it would be a 6-10 point game or maybe even closer.”

Not only was Auburn (19-11) unable to cope with King’s inside game, when the Tigers sagged on him, guard Mookie Blaylock, who had 21 points, and forward Dave Sieger, who hit five three-pointers and scored 15 points, bombed away from outside.

That combination gave the Sooners their 18th victory in their last 19 games.

“It was a great game for us,” Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs said. “We played at our tempo and shot the ball well. We were concerned before the game about Auburn’s rebounding power and their big men did give us trouble on the boards.”

But Chris Morris, who scored 36 points as Auburn upset Bradley on Thursday, committed two quick fouls and spent the last 15 minutes of the first half on the bench. He scored all of his 17 points in the second half, when the game was virtually out of reach.

Auburn Coach Sonny Smith pointed out that the last two teams to knock Auburn out of the tournament went on to win the national championship.

Louisville eliminated Auburn two years ago and went on to win the title. Indiana did it last year.

“I wouldn’t put that kind of pressure on them, but this team is capable of winning the national championship,” Smith said.

“Oklahoma’s a great team. Defense--that’s what they beat us with.”

Even without Morris, the Tigers hung tight for the first 13 minutes. It was only 32-30 but the Sooners, who went over the 100-point mark for the 19th time this season, pulled into a 51-37 lead at halftime and led, 70-49, just 6 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Oklahoma never let up. The Sooners still had four of their starters in the lineup when they hit the 100 mark and a 23-point lead with 2:40 left.

“I’ve been second guessed for 10 years,” Smith said. “I wanted to keep it to 10 points or under with Chris on the bench. We couldn’t do it.

“Our first half turnovers and poor shooting put us in a hole from the start. You have to give Oklahoma credit. They did an outstanding job on us and they are definitely one of the nation’s top teams.”

Jeff Moore scored 22 points for Auburn and John Caylor added 14, all in the first half.

Ricky Grace added 15 points for Oklahoma.

Louisville 97, BYU 76--Pervis Ellison, the most valuable player in the NCAA Final Four two years ago, scored 24 points and the Cardinals overpowered the No. 19 Cougars.

Ellison had 14 points in the first half as Louisville (24-10), who won the national title in 1985-86, overcame a 12-2 deficit and used a 10-0 run in the final 2:34 to take a 51-42 lead at the half. BYU (26-6) could get no closer than nine points in the second half.

The Cardinals outscored the Cougars, 20-6, in the first eight minutes of the second half, and built a 85-62 lead with 6:06 left. Reserve center Felton Spencer scored 8 of his 16 points in the surge.

Louisville, which has won 11 of its last 12 games, simply wore down the smaller Cougars with a front line that measures 7-feet, 6-9 and 6-7.

The Cardinals, not invited to defend its NCAA title last year after posting an 18-14 record, returned this year after winning the Metro Conference tournament and beat Oregon State, 70-61, in the opening round.

Kenny Payne added 16 points, Herbert Crook and LaBradford Smith each had 12 and Keith Williams scored 11 for Louisville.

Michael Smith scored 21 points for BYU. Jeff Chatman added 19 and Jim Usevitch had 13.

Of the Cardinals, Usevitch said, “They passed great from post to post and rebounding was a key. Ellison is a very smart player who uses his body well. I was very impressed with their whole team.”

BYU Coach Ladell Anderson said: “I can see why they were national champions two years ago, they played like it tonight. We turned the ball over more than we would have liked to. Their people are quicker and jump higher than we do.”

Said Louisville Coach Denny Crum: “When I looked at the halftime sheet and saw we had just one turnover, I didn’t say anything to the team. I didn’t want to jinx us. On a given night, we can play with anyone. On another night, anyone can play with us.”