Those closest to the Sooner nation and those who have been following the Sooners all year long know it better than anyone.

But whether OU head coach Jeff Capel wants to admit it or not, the Sooners did prove something to the nation’s spectators Saturday night, despite dropping a 73-68 defeat in Austin at the hands of bitter rival Texas.

OU is for real, even without sophomore star forward Blake Griffin.

“We didn’t have anything to prove to ourselves,” Capel said. “We’ve played hard all year. Again, I’ve been saying all year, and our guys know it, that it’s not Blake and the Sooners. It’s Oklahoma. We didn’t prove anything to ourselves. We lost and we’re disappointed.”

They didn’t need to prove anything to themselves or to those who have followed them all season, but they did need to convince those doubters who said the Sooners can only run through Griffin.

For all intents and purposes, most people thought the Sooners shouldn’t have even been in the game after the probable National Player of the Year in Griffin.

But the Sooners proved on Saturday they were all wrong.

Freshman guard Willie Warren not only showed he can step up and hit the big shot when he needs to, he proved he can step up and hit many big shots as well.

Warren scorched the Longhorns for 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including six-for-12 shooting from behind the arc.

He also dropped several dimes, tossing six assists in the game throughout his 38 minutes of play.

Junior guard Tony Crocker is another guy who stepped up from behind the perimeter for the Sooners, as he put up 14 points and snatched seven rebounds.

While senior guard Austin Johnson didn’t wow anyone with a big scoring performance, he was complete in his outing, as well.

Johnson scored 6 points, tossed equally as many assists and pulled down seven rebounds for the Sooners.

And the Sooner posts showed ESPN announcers Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman, as well as the rest of the nation, they are physical enough to battle with the best.

Juniors Juan Pattillo and Ryan Wright each had momentum-swinging dunks, and senior forward Taylor Griffin scored 9 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 35-minute effort.

It was hard not to notice the togetherness of this squad and the fact that they are for real when in comes to March Madness.

This team has the talent, motivation and chemistry to go all the way.

-Joey Helmer is a journalism junior