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Blake Griffin, Oklahoma extend streak over Baylor to 29 with rout

Jan 25, 2009 - 3:04 AM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- While Blake Griffin's big-time play has been a recent phenomenon, Oklahoma's success over Baylor has been a long-running affair.

Griffin posted 20 points and 17 rebounds as fifth-ranked Oklahoma continued its dominance of No. 23 Baylor on Saturday with a 95-76 rout.

Twin brother Taylor Griffin added 18 points and seven boards for the Sooners (19-1, 5-0 Big 12), who have won the last 29 meetings with the Bears, a streak that dates back to 1978-79 season.

Overall, Oklahoma holds a 34-5 record against Baylor, including 25-0 since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97.

Blake Griffin made sure the latest matchup was a lopsided one, scoring 14 points in the first half as Oklahoma took a 58-31 lead at the half. Freshman Willie Warren had 13 of his 17 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Griffin also corralled 11 rebounds before the break, notching his NCAA-leading 16th double-double of the season.

"Blake (Griffin) continues to show why he is the best player in the country," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

With runs of 8-0 and 11-0 in the first half, the Sooners shot 67 percent (20-of-30) before intermission, going on to notch the most points in a half this season.

"I thought that was maybe a complete of a first half as we have played all season long," Capel said. "The way we shot it, the way we moved the ball and really the way we defended. That is what I am most pleased with about this whole game."

Oklahoma did have a bit of a scare in the final moments before halftime, as Blake Griffin turned his left ankle after trying to split two defenders in the lane on a fast break. However, he was able to walk off the court under his own power and appeared fine in the second half.

Although it entered the game as the Big 12's top shooting team, Baylor could not get closer than 20 points in the second half until the closing moments.

Curtis Jerrells scored 26 points and LaceDarius Dunn added 20 for the Bears (15-4, 3-2), who shot 35 percent (28-of-81) from the field.

"Baylor is such an explosive offensive team and they were one of the leaders in our league in field goal percentage, and to hold them under 40 percent for the game was really good," Capel said. "I am really proud of this win. We beat a good team and have a quick turnaround. We have to get ready to play another explosive offensive team in Oklahoma State on Monday."

Griffin finished 6-of-15 from the field and 8-of-10 on free throws in reaching 20 points for the fifth time in his last six games. The sophomore forward leads the Big 12 with 22.2 points per game.

Warren made 6-of-8 shots despite being in foul trouble. However, his outside shooting and that of Tony Crocker (12 points) and Austin Johnson (8) allowed Griffin to have a much easier time inside.

"It opens up things," Griffin said. "It allows them not to sag down in the lane and pack it. It just made the flow of the game go a lot better."

The Bears were not able to get into any kind of a flow until the contest was well out of hand, topping the Sooners, 45-37, after the intermission.

Leading the Big 12 with a 49.5 field-goal percentage coming in, Baylor went 10-of-38 from the floor (26 percent) in the first half en route to falling to 1-2 against ranked teams this season.

"Oklahoma really played well, especially in the first half and by the time we got back into it it was obviously too late," Drew said. "They just made shots. The encouraging thing for us is that we had some looks that we don't normally have, but again, they played extremely well."

Overall, the Bears are 3-34 against the top 25 in the six seasons under Drew.