Kansas City, MO -- (Sports Network) - Blake Griffin scored 33 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, as Oklahoma tamed the Michigan Wolverines, 73-63, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Willie Warren had 16 points and Austin Johnson 12 with five boards for the Sooners (29-5), who are seeded second in the South Region and advanced to the Sweet 16 to take on either Arizona State or Syracuse Friday in Memphis.

"I'm really proud of our guys," said Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel. "We beat a good basketball team, and we're very, very grateful to have an opportunity to continue to play."

DeShawn Sims and Anthony Wright both finished with 14 points to pace the 10th- seeded Wolverines (21-14), who were back in the tourney for the first time since 1998.

"I want them to know that, first of all, that they were a few breaks and a few shots away from going to the Sweet 16," Michigan head coach John Beilein said. "Even though it got away in the second half, if we had a couple other shots drop and a couple breaks go our way, we could be continuing on."

The people in attendance at the Sprint Center needed umbrellas because it was raining threes. Both clubs dialed it up four times from long distance early on in the contest, with Wright's triple cutting Oklahoma's lead to 22-18 with about 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half.

Later, Juan Pattillo fouled C.J. Lee as he lofted a three-ball. Lee sank all three free throws to pull the Wolverines to within one. After Griffin made 1- of-2 at the charity stripe, Stu Douglass hit a jumper to tie the game at 23 before a layup by Sims gave Michigan a 28-25 lead with four minutes to play.

Oklahoma, which went into the break clinging to a 30-29 lead, came out strong to start the second half, scoring 14 of the frame's first 18 points, while Michigan endured a cold spell.

Michigan regained its touch, going on a 10-0 spurt, with Lee draining two three-pointers, to close the gap to 58-55 with about six minutes remaining. Warren and Griffin responded with consecutive buckets to restore a seven-point edge.

With the shot clock winding down, Warren penetrated into the lane and handed off to Griffin, who muscled in a layup, and Johnson knocked down a trey to make it 69-57 with about 1 1/2 minutes left, and the Sooners kept Michigan at arm's length the rest of the way.

Game Notes:

Lee and Manny Harris each scored 11 points for Michigan...Taylor Griffin finished with seven points and seven rebounds for the Sooners...Oklahoma is now 35-25 in tourney play all-time, while Michigan falls to 42-20...The Wolverines made 10-of-27 three-point attempts...The Sooners finished 6-of-19 from beyond the arc.