Mark Mitchell scores career-high 25 as Missouri Tigers slam Oklahoma in SEC basketball
Guard/forward Mark Mitchell poured in a career-high 25 points, 19 before halftime, as the No. 21-ranked Missouri Tigers men’s basketball team routed Southeastern Conference foe Oklahoma 82-58 on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.
Mitchell, a Kansas City native and product of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, was 6-of-12 from the floor and 13-of-18 at the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and two steals.
“I was not happy with his performance at all (against Texas A&M last Saturday),” MU coach Dennis Gates said. “... I think he got the message.
“I saw the focus and saw his behavior change as it relates to me getting his attention, so I’m proud of him.”
A junior playing his first season at Mizzou after transferring from Duke to coach Dennis Gates’ team, Mitchell reached the 1,000-point mark for his career Wednesday. His previous single-game high for points was 23, set with the Blue Devils, while his previous high this season was 21, set vs. Cal.
“It’s a blessing,” Mitchell said. “It’s an accumulation of a lot of hard work. I’m gonna keep going. It’s just a blessing to reach that milestone.”
Mitchell is the fifth player on this year’s Missouri team to reach 1,000 career points, joining Caleb Grill, Tamar Bates, Marques Warrick and Tony Perkins.
Wednesday’s home victory got the Tigers (17-6, 6-4 SEC) back into the win column after back-to-back losses. They also recorded their first win against the Sooners (16-8, 3-8) since February 2012 — the two schools’ final season as Big 12 rivals.
“Oklahoma’s a great team,” Gates said. “Their record is not an indicator of who they are and what they are. ... The gauntlet of our SEC conference is what it is, and it’s one of the best conferences in the country and ever assembled, I think.”
MU’s two recent losses were close ones at the hands of ranked SEC opponents (to No. 4 Tennessee and No. 13 Texas A&M). The Tigers shot just 23.8% from 3-point range against the Aggies and were out-rebounded, too.
But Mizzou made its presence felt on the glass against OU, grabbing 35 boards to the Sooners’ 32.
“Our guys accept the medicine from watching film,” Gates said. “They don’t run from their mistakes ... they try to understand it and then they apply it right then and there.”
MU’s Grill played a key role offensively Wednesday. For the ninth time this season, the guard from Wichita made three or more 3-pointers in a game. He was 4-for-4 beyond the 3-point arc and finished with 15 points.
Perkins added 12 points and sophomore guard Anthony Robinson II chipped in 10 for the Tigers.
Senior guard Duke Miles led Oklahoma with 18 points; Jalon Moore was the only other Sooners player in double-figures, with 10.
Missouri led 44-24 at halftime. The Tigers held the Sooners without a field goal for the final 4 minutes, 20 seconds of the first half.
OU turned the ball over 13 times in the opening half — 17 times for the game — with many of those giveaways coming via Missouri’s eight first-half steals (12 total Wednesday night).
Mizzou returns to the road for its next game, a 2:30 p.m. Saturday contest against the Georgia Bulldogs.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 10:50 PM.
