Missouri’s late burst isn’t enough as Tigers fall to Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament
Whatever magic Missouri used to collect victories over some of the nation’s best men’s basketball teams this season wasn’t available to the Tigers in their most important contest of the season.
The Tigers fell to Oklahoma 72-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, ending Missouri’s once-promising season at 16-10.
It was a battle between teams that had been slumping toward the end of the year and Missouri’s slide continued. The Tigers lost seven of their final 10 games.
The Tigers didn’t go down without a fight. Dru Smith swished a pair of three-pointers to close an eight-point deficit to 70-67 with 47 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma committed a turnover and Missouri had a final chance. The Tigers couldn’t get a clean look and with 2.5 seconds remaining, Drew Buggs was fouled.
He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. But Oklahoma’s Jalen Hill grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 1.3 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to clinch the victory.
Oklahoma big man Brady Manek finished with 19 points and had big buckets all night, none more important than a three-pointer to give the Sooners a 61-57 lead with 3:28 to play.
Three minutes earlier, Missouri had taken a 55-54 lead on Dru Smith’s three-pointer. Oklahoma quickly regained the edge on a pair of Elijah Harkness free throws.
But the Tigers missed a chance here. Missouri had three straight possessions in which it missed a three-point attempt on a rushed shot.
From there, Oklahoma behind Manek and Austin Reaves, who finished with 21 points, created separation and Missouri didn’t have enough of a response.
So, a season that included regular season victories over top-seeded Illinois and second-seeded Alabama came to an end.
Dru Smith finished with 17 points. Kobe Brown had 16.
For most of the evening, the game was a close as the selection committee believed it would be when it made Oklahoma a No. 8 seed and Mizzou a No. 9.
The Tigers led by one at halftime. The Sooners started the second half on fire, especially Manek, who opened the half with a three-pointer and eight points in a 12-2 run that gave the Sooners a 38-29 edge.
But back came the Tigers. Dru Smith knocked down his first two three-pointers of the game and Mizzou answered with a 12-2 run of its own to regain a 41-40 lead.
Manek was a problem all evening for the Tigers. As a big man with soft perimeter touch, he’s a tough matchup.
Mark Smith held the early hot hand and that brought a sigh of relief from Missouri. Smith entered the game without a triple in his previous three games, missing 11.
But Smith was true on successive possessions early that helped Mizzou build a 14-7 lead. Then things slowed down for the Tigers. Oklahoma edged ahead 15-14 and the game went back and forth the rest of half with Mizzou leading 27-26 at the break.
The Sooners were without second leading scorer De’Vion Harmon, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
That meant even more was needed from Reaves and Manek and they delivered to send Oklahoma to the second round against top-seeded Gonzaga.
Missouri’s NCAA Tournament losing streak reached six games. The Tigers’ last win was in 2010.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 8:39 PM.