Mizzou basketball falls 80-64 at the hands of Oklahoma, throwing a wrench in the Tigers' postseason path.
Missouri Basketball entered the week playing its best basketball of the season. The Tigers bested No. 22 Tennessee 73-69 at home and bludgeoned Mississippi State by 24 on the road, the largest margin of victory for their Southeastern Conference schedule.
Mark Mitchell poured in 17 points against the Bulldogs en route to earning SEC Player of the Week honors. Four of his teammates joined him in double-digit scoring. The Tigers also leapt up to the No. 3 seed in the Southeastern Conference and left the NCAA Tournament bubble projection in the dust.
Miles of blue skies and open roads were ahead of them en route to the postseason.
The Tigers had two games left on their regular-season schedule, one against a bottom-feeder Oklahoma team and one against No. 20 Arkansas. Understandably, the season-finale matchup against a ranked Arkansas squad was the one many circled on the calendar. The Razorbacks present a much harder challenge and more-accurately serves as a postseason-tester for the Tigers.
But before the Battle Line matchup, Missouri had to travel to Norman to play the surging Oklahoma Sooners, who had won back-to-back games and four of their last six.
That screamed trap game so loud that ESPN analytics favored Oklahoma to win by 61% despite the Tigers having five more conference wins. Despite how loud the warning cries were, Missouri walked into a predictable trap in Norman, falling 80-64 to the Sooners.
Missouri now drops to 20-10 on the season and 10-7 in conference play. The Tigers no longer control their own destiny for a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, needing losses from Tennessee or Arkansas.
So what derailed the Tigers’ smooth sailing?
For starters, Mizzou racked up 10 turnovers and shot 1-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half, digging itself into a 35-26 deficit at halftime. The Tigers did shoot an improved 7-for-15 from deep in the second half, but the damage was irreparable, especially considering the red-hot Sooners shot an equal 6-for-11 from beyond the arc in both halves.
An old friend — or perhaps better phrased, enemy — knocked on the door to play a contributing role in the loss. Missouri shot just 8-for-16 from the line, knocking down 50% of its free throws despite shooting from the line 78.2% in its previous four games.
Point guards Anthony Robinson II and T.O. Barrett fouled out on back-to-back defensive possessions.
The only positives for Missouri’s otherwise abysmal offense was Mark Mitchell, who scored 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting, Anthony Robinson II, who scored 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and Trent Pierce, who scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Mitchell and Robinson each had old problems stain their solid nights, however — Mitchell missed four of his eight free-throws and Robinson fouled out with 5:02 remaining in the game. Robinson wasn’t the only Tiger in foul trouble, though, as T.O. Barrett fouled two defensive possessions later, ending his night with 4:16 remaining.
Jayden Stone continued his slump by shooting 4-for-14 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range to total nine points, marking his third consecutive game shooting less than 30% from the field while scoring single-digit points.
The Tigers have plenty to correct before beginning postseason play. They’ll have one final opportunity to do so against Arkansas at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena.