Mizzou starts slow again, falters in 77-66 loss to Oklahoma in Hall of Fame Classic
For the second straight night, the Missouri Tigers started slow as their opponent sprinted to a double digit lead.
While Mizzou clawed back on Tuesday night at the Sprint Center, it couldn’t complete the comeback in a 77-66 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. Coupled with a Monday loss to Butler, the Tigers finished 0-2 in the Hall of Fame Classic.
“It’s just a little bit of everything,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said of the slow starts. “Stagnant offense. Getting Jeremiah (Tilmon) going in situations. Defensive breakdowns.”
In the opening minutes, Oklahoma couldn’t miss. The Sooners started 8 for 8 on field goals, including five three-pointers. Immediately after, they couldn’t make a shot, shooting 0 for 8 after the hot start. The Sooners finished 27 of 57 from the field (47.4%). Mizzou also allowed a season-high 77 points, one night after the defense struggled against Butler.
Good shots were difficult to find as Mizzou went scoreless for 5 minutes, 43 seconds. The Sooners opened up an 18-point lead in that span, their largest of the game.
Mizzou fought back, making it a one-point game midway through the second half. But Oklahoma used an 8-0 run to stretch it back to a double digit game.
While forward Jeremiah Tilmon had a nice bounce-back game, it wasn’t enough. The 6-foot-10 forward finished with 13 points and five rebounds, overcoming his own personal slow start. Guard Mark Smith couldn’t find his shot early, air-balling a three and missing two straight free throws. But he also finished strong with 18 points and eight rebounds. Torrence Watson also added 11 points in his best performance of the season.
Oklahoma was led by Austin Reaves with 19 points and Brady Manek scoring 17.
Mizzou plays host to Charleston Southern its next game at 7 p.m. Dec 3 at Mizzou Arena.
“Just have to fight harder in the beginning,” Watson said. “We gotta figure out what’s causing us not to execute in the first minutes. We just gotta go back to Columbia and get back to practice on Friday.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 8:07 PM.