Advertised as a heavyweight championship boxing match between Iowa State’s Craig Brackins and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, Saturday afternoon’s game was as explosive in the front court as predicted. Both players entertained the crowd, came up with big plays and led their teams by example, and in the end, Oklahoma’s big man hit a shot-clock beating fadeaway and came up with game-changing rebounds time and again, leading the Sooners to a 10-point win. The other eight players on the court made it the great basketball game that it was, as opposed to the star-studded flop it could have been.

Even ISU coach Greg McDermott used the boxing analogy when describing his team’s effort.

“I’m proud of my team’s effort, and for most part, their execution. That was a very talented basketball team and we played toe-to-toe with them after getting punched in the mouth early in the game,” McDermott said.

With the gargantuan numbers Griffin put up — 23 points and 15 rebounds — Brackins proved to NBA scouts and skeptical Cyclone fans he was able to keep up with the Big 12’s best, scoring 19 points and collecting 10 boards of his own. The two players guarded each other periodically, coming up with defensive stops and getting short baskets to aid their teams.

With all the hype and highlight hoopla surrounding the event, it could have been difficult to diverge from the boxing match with a basketball analogy — until the rest of the players put on their sneakers and decided to play.

Griffin and Brackins provided the star power and played great basketball, but the rest of Oklahoma’s role players, and the stunning reappearance of Brackin’s buddies, made the game much more interesting than a game of one-on-one.

“There’s a reason Oklahoma’s gonna be number two in the country when we wake up Monday morning, and it’s because they’ve got a phenomenal player in Blake Griffin, but they’ve got a really good supporting cast,” McDermott said.

The match-up occurring at the top of the key was arguably more interesting and instrumental to the game than the popular scoring machines dueling it out. Diante Garrett played his best game in an ISU uniform, putting in 17 points and totaling 10 dimes, numbers that fans and McDermott have been waiting for.

“I watched them on tape five or six games, and I thought it was the best I’ve seen Garrett play,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said.

It was unfortunate for Garrett that his slashing performance was overshadowed by one Willie Warren, a freshman guard who looks and plays like someone five years older, who scored 29 points and may have made three point shots from the parking lot if it was legal.

“[Warren has] done a great job all year, he really takes a lot of pressure off us inside, and every big game we’ve needed him to step up he has,” Griffin said. “That’s tough for a freshman to do, so we’re very, very happy to have him here.”

Warren’s one-handed slam over Justin Hamilton in the first half was more reminiscent of LeBron than a 6-foot-4-inch freshman guard, but his was not the only Sooner performance key to the victory. Forward Juan Patillo added 10 points and some solid defense, and Austin Johnson’s big 3-pointer at the end of the game was a huge contributing basket to the Sooners.

Iowa State’s resident Canadian Jamie Vanderbeken had 12 points of his own, and Lucca Staiger delivered like he hadn’t missed a step from earlier this season, hitting three treys, including one that put the Cyclones up 66-65 after his shoulder injury.

“It’s a young team that’s going to continue to get better,” Capel said. “Vanderbeken gives them a different look as a 6’10 guy that can step out and shoot, and [Bryan] Petersen and Staiger, you have to respect that because of their ability to shoot the basketball.”

The role players have been missing in recent games, and their cold shooting has made Brackins look like an All-American, but in these great games that Brackins is having, the Cyclones are losing. Although this close loss may not automatically jump-start the team’s momentum, and through the rest of season, it may have been the wake-up call they needed to pull off a conference road win. In the last two games, Brackins had scored 56.8 percent of the team’s points, and both were losses.

“To battle back, and get that thing tied, and play 17 minutes of the second half virtually even with them, it shows the direction we’re moving,” McDermott said.

Top to bottom, Oklahoma was stronger and had truck-loads more athleticism than Iowa State did — OU’s pre-game dunk “drill” shoved that in Cyclone Alley’s face — but both teams were able to see that with a complete team effort, and full 40 minutes of running the floor, one all-star isn’t going to win the game. After the game, Brackins looked dejected and somber, but the team isn’t totally despondent.

“Every loss is tough, but with the way we played, it’s not one of those losses — we know what we can do,” Brackins said. “If we play like this every game, the outcomes would probably be different.”

Despite the loss, the team seemed pleased with their progress after the game.

“This is the same team that lost to South Dakota State a little over a month ago,” McDermott said. “Obviously we’re in a different place as a team now then we were then, we just have to keep moving this train forward. I’d like it to go in feet, and maybe even miles, but now it’s moving by the inch, and we just have to keep doing that.”

Griffin may have closely won the one-on-one with Brackins, but in the basketball game at Hilton on Saturday, Iowa State lost via decision to the highly touted Sooners — it’s up to the Cyclones whether this team effort in a loss can inspire a late season run, or lead to a knockout.

-Chris Cuellar is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Eldridge