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Griffin, Oklahoma top Colorado

Feb 8, 2009 - 12:57 AM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- It is starting to get to the point where you can chalk up a double-double for Blake Griffin and a win for Oklahoma everytime the Sooners play.

Griffin had 26 points and 12 rebounds as second-ranked Oklahoma remained perfect in the Big 12 Conference, posting a 77-72 victory over Colorado on Saturday.

Tony Crocker chipped in 24 points and a career-high seven 3-pointers for the Sooners (23-1, 9-0 Big 12), who claimed their 11th straight win.

Oklahoma also won for the 18th consecutive time at home, thanks in a large part to Griffin, a major national player of the year candidate.

Griffin, however, was not completely happy with the win, believing his team let up some after halftime.

"We played well in the first, but we're not satisfied at all," he said. "We have to play a whole game in the way we're capable of."

The 6-10 sophomore finished 11-of-14 from the field and pulled down five offensive boards on the way to his sixth straight double-double. Griffin is averaging 23.0 points and 15.8 rebounds over that span.

"Obviously he is incredibly talented and he can do things on the floor that not a lot of people can," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. "He is a guy you have to game plan for and so it helps us on the offensive end to be able to do more things.

"He is one of the hardest working kids I have been around as far as working on his game and trying to improve and get better. He is very driven and, for us to have a guy like this in our program, hopefully he is a guy that other guys watch and look at and say, 'This is what it takes to have a chance to be an elite player.'"

Overall, Griffin has 20 double-doubles in 24 games this season.

"He is so athletic and, from what I can tell, his head and heart are in the right place," Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "He plays hard and is so strong around the basket. He needs to continue to get better with his skills, which I'm sure he will. He is a great player with a great future."

Griffin also surpassed 1,000 points for his career, notching the milestone on an alley-oop dunk in the first half that gave Oklahoma a 25-20 lead with 8:37 remaining.

The only place where Griffin had any struggles was at the free-throw line, going 4-of-10. He also committed six turnovers.

The Sooners, who are two wins shy of tying the school record for best start to league play, went on to take a 38-33 advantage at the break.

After the Buffaloes closed within 38-35 on a jumper by Austin Dufault in the opening seconds of the second half, the Sooners went on an 11-5 run before cruising the rest of the way. Griffin had four points during the spurt.

During the run, reserve Juan Patillo came up with another big defensive play for Oklahoma, rotating over to block a dunk attempt by Dwight Thorne II.

It was just the latest in a number of high-energy play for Patillo, who went on to finish with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks.

"He gives us a big lift, obviously, not just his athleticism, but a lift on offense," Griffin said. "He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Defensively, he's solid. He can block shots when you least expect it. He's just always there for us and somebody we can rely on."

Griffin was also able to rely on some big points outside on Saturday from Crocker, who ended up 7-of-11 from long range.

"Whenever you make your first shot, you get it going," Crocker said. "It was just a team thing. They found me open in spots where I was wide open to make the shot."

The junior guard had been just 2-of-7 from the arc over his previous three games, scoring just 16 points in that span.

Cory Higgins scored 20 points for Colorado (9-13), which lost for the 10th time in its last 12 games.