Spirit Squad Tournament Blog

The OU Spirit Squad will hit the road on Friday, traveling to Tulsa, Okla., to cheer on the men’s and women’s basketball teams as they participate in the Summit League tournament and vie for a chance at the Big Dance. Check back beginning Friday, March 7 as the Spirit Squad members document their journey through this blog.

The OU Spirit Squad helped cheer the men's basketball team to victory.

Monday, March 10, 2:10 a.m.
1 down 2 to go!

The Golden Grizzlies advanced tonight to the Summit League semi-finals to face off against the IUPUI Jaguars.  In a hard fought game Oakland came out on top finishing off the WIU Leathernecks with a 80 to 64 victory.  The victory sets up a huge day today with the women facing off against arch rival Oral Roberts at noon (1 p.m. EST), and the men taking on IUPUI at 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m.) on FSN+.  It’s time for us to get some rest here in Tulsa to prepare for the big day.

Oakland Spirit Squad
Ben Fielder
Anthony Gallina
Adam Panchenko

OU's men get into tournament action on Sunday, March 9 at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Sunday, March 9, 3:30 p.m.
Exciting night in Tulsa revs up Oakland faithful

After returning home from a long day yesterday with great women’s basketball, the men’s games one and two were played last night and a group of us die hard basketball fans decided to get dropped off at the arena to watch the number one and number two teams play. Oral Roberts won the first game by a landslide, while IUPUI pulled out a thrilling finish to upend UMKC in the final seconds. As much as we would have liked to see a top seed go down, the two wins makes our game tonight even more important.

Today we have most of the day to do what we want so a bunch of us decided to embark on another trip to Sonic for a brunch considering many of us slept in. Later on we will transform into our face paint and Grizz gear and head down to the arena for our 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. Eastern) tip as our Golden Grizzlies look to win their third straight against the WIU Leathernecks. It’s not only is a vital game tonight for our survival in the tournament, but we also are hoping to launch to the next round so that many of you at home can tune in Monday night at 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. Eastern) for the next round game live on FSN Plus.  (Visit the OU Athletics Web site for more information.)

Till then, we are going to head out of this hotel into the sunny 60 degree weather that Tulsa spoiling us with. Be sure to check back later tonight for the exciting news about the results of tonight’s big game. Go Grizzlies!!!

Oakland Spirit Squad
Ben Fielder
Anthony Gallina
Adam Panchenko

 

OU Spirit Squad visits Sonic to celebrate the women's team win.

Saturday, March 8, 5:45 p.m.
Super Sonic win launches Grizzlies to the semi-finals

We woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m. and got our day started with a rousing chorus of “OU Fight.” Then we put on our Spirit Squad garb and departed for the Tulsa Marriot to attend a large buffet breakfast and pep rally. It was an awesome event that included speeches from OU President Gary Russi, men’s basketball head coach Greg Kampe, women’s basketball assistant coach Jenny Roulier, and athletic director Tracy Huth. The pep band played the fight song and the whole room stood up and sang along. Now it was time for us to depart for the John Q. Hammond’s Arena.

The game started slow with the Grizzlies coming out a little cold but before long we pulled ahead for a double digit lead and never looked back. The women held on for a 60-49 victory and advance to play the winner of the Oral Roberts vs. IPFW game.

After the game it was time for a celebration meal at one of the area’s many Sonic restaurants. We each tried one of the 168, 440 slushie drink combinations that were available and quickly found ourselves realizing what we have been missing out on living in an area of Michigan without a Sonic close by. There is nothing like the taste of a Sonic tater-tot and a cherry limeade watermelon slushi to celebrate a great Oakland victory.

Tonight we are heading back to the arena to watch the two men’s games and top off the night with a competitive game of bowling. We hope it didn’t snow too much back at home but we are happy to be in the sun here in Tulsa.

Oakland Spirit Squad

Ben Fielder
Anthony Gallina
Adam Panchenko

OU Spirit Squad's decorated hotel room in Tulsa for the Summit League tournament.

Saturday, March 8, 2:40 a.m.
17 hours, four states, two busses, one tournament

After a 17-hour bus ride through snow and four states we finally arrived at our hotel here in Tulsa, Okla.  The ride down was long but gave us plenty of time to think about the tournament. We checked in, got to our room and instantly began to decorate, bringing the OU Spirit here to Tulsa. After setting up banners and a basketball hoop, we felt like we were back at home. Now we could finally settle into our room for a hopefully long stay here in Oklahoma. 

Saturday is going to be a big day. First thing in the morning we’ll go to breakfast and pep rally OU President Gary Russi.  This is the chance for us to rally Golden Grizzlies fans here in Tulsa to attend the first game of the Summit League Championship. First-seeded Oakland Grizzlies vs. number 8 Centenary Ladies at noon (central time).  Our lady Golden Grizzlies won both of our games against Centenary this year and we’re looking for another win to bounce us into the semifinals. In our free time tomorrow we’re also planning on going the first two games of the men’s tournament.  Number one seed Oral Roberts vs. eighth-seed Centenary and number two seed IUPUI vs. seventh-seed UMKC.

Make sure to keep checking out the blog because we’re updating with the game results and plenty of exciting adventures in Tulsa. 

OU Spirit Squad
Ben Fielder
Anthony Gallina
Adam Panchenko