NEWS » a lot of things, said Victor Oladipo,

HOUSTON -- When the third set of College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled Tuesday night, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, receiver Jaylen Smith and a handful of other Cardinals tweeted their reactions to it. It was clear they were surprised and certainly not pleased to be outside of the top four.Perhaps they were too concerned with where they stood, according to at least one player following No. 5 Louisvilles stunning 36-10 loss at Houston on Thursday night, which essentially knocked the Cardinals out of the playoff hunt.I think we let that get to us too much, Louisville sophomore safety Dee Smith said after the loss. We shouldnt have paid too much attention to the rankings. Instead of playing our game, we were trying to do too much, in my eyes.Not everyone necessarily agreed, but almost all the Cardinals who spoke with reporters acknowledged a lack of focus for Thursdays game. It showed: they committed 15 penalties, allowed 11 sacks and turned the ball over three times.The ranking is what it is, senior running back Brandon Radcliff said. Im sure there were a lot of people waiting on this moment [for us to lose]. Me being a captain, I tried to get our guys to focus on the task at hand and thats Houston. Our focus wasnt there today.The Cardinals fell behind the Cougars 31-0 at halftime and couldnt recover. They held Houston scoreless in the third quarter, scored a touchdown on their first second-half possession but fumbled in the red zone as they were trying to get a second score, then settled for a field goal on their third possession of the half.We blew it, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. We had an opportunity sitting there. Cant take anything away from Houston either. They did a good job, they executed well and they played well. It was one of those situations where they were better than us tonight, no question about it.Coming into the game, Jackson had a sizable lead on the rest of the country in the Heisman Trophy race. Asked if he thought Thursdays loss would affect his chances, Jackson dismissed such a notion.No, Im not really focused on that, Jackson said. I was focused on winning. Im not really focused on the Heisman. I just have to go out there, play with my team and help us win games. Thats it.Radcliff had stronger words in defense of his teammate, saying it didnt hurt Jacksons chances.Of course not, Radcliff said. Hes the best player in the nation. Nobody can question that man, the effort he goes out there and plays with every week. I dont care what you say, nobody touches him on that field.To me, hes the best player out there and Im not just saying that because hes my teammate. Stack him up against anybody. Nobodys touching what hes doing on that field.Willy Hernangomez Jersey . JOHNS, N. 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Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook registered the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?in 1975, leading the Thunder to a 113-110 win in overtime over the Suns?on Friday night and a 2-0 start.Westbrooks final line: 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists -- the third-highest point total ever in a triple-double.It was good, Steven Adams said. Standard.Westbrook scored 39 of his 51 points in the second half and overtime, including 23 in the third quarter. He gave the Thunder the lead for good in overtime with 7.6 seconds remaining on a layup -- his career-high 44th shot attempt. After sinking two free throws to seal it in the closing seconds, Westbrook reached the historic 50-point, triple-double plateau.Westbrook didnt seem all that impressed with the feat, saying he hadnt reflected much on it.[Im] hungry, Ill tell you that much, he said.Westbrook played 45 minutes against the Suns. He displayed relentless spirit and energy throughout, sparking the Thunder from a 15-point deficit at the end of the first quarter.Youve got to want to win, Westbrook said of taking on that level of workload. Its pretty simple. If you want to win, you dont think about being tired. Being tired is a mind thing. Its in your mind. Youve got to go out and compete at a high level and leave it on the floor.Westbrook had a number of chances to put the game away in regulation, missing a handful of shots in the final few minutes. But in overtime, he put his head down and attacked the basket for the winning bucket.I shouldve attacked the first time, Westbrook said.Of Westbrooks 10 assists, only two came in the fourth quarter and overtime. He set up?Andre Roberson?for a 3 with 2:40 left in the fourth to put the Thunder up 102-98, and Roberson benefited from another Westbrook assist on a cut with 2:46 left in overtime to put Oklahoma City up by two.Tonight, I think I shouldve [trusted teammates] a lot more, honestly, Westbrook said. Throughout the game, Ive got to find ways to not just trust them but get them the ball where they can score the basketball. We missed some easy shots as well, but at the same time, Ive got to do a better job of finding open guys, getting them more shots, but we came out with the win tonight and we can figure that out for the next game.ddddddddddddCoach Billy Donovan said he wasnt bothered by Westbrooks 44 shot attempts, saying he thought his All-Star point guard took what the defense gave him.His heart, his competitiveness, his will to win, I never want to take that from him or ever get in the way of him feeling like he cant play with that fire or passion, Donovan said. Thats who he is. But everything, hes in timeouts telling guys to be ready, If they pull across, Im going to find you. Hes doing that. Hes talking about that. When the balls in his hands, hes got to make those decisions, and tonight was a night, in my opinion, they were willing to live with him taking those shots.Hes one of the best players in the world, and I have all the confidence in the world that he can make those shots when hes open, and I want him taking those shots.Westbrooks teammates didnt appear to take any issue with the number of shots he took.Not being here, you hear a lot about him. You hear a lot of rumors. You hear a lot of things, said Victor Oladipo, who was the only other Thunder player in double figures with 21 points. But sitting by him and working with him every day, and building a friendship with him every day, you realize what type of man he truly is. And this dude right here wants to win more than anyone in the world.And hell do anything to do that. The misconception of what he used to be or what he is, is false. This is coming from me; I was with him for two months straight in the summer time. Just looking in his eyes and talking to him, you see how smart he is, what type of basketball player he is. Hell do anything to win.Westbrook just missed a triple-double in the Thunders opening game Wednesday, a win against the Philadelphia 76ers in which he had 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Last season, he had the most triple-doubles (18) since Magic Johnson in 1983. ' ' '