Mizzou basketball stuns Oklahoma Sooners with not one, but two buzzer-beaters
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- Missouri beat Oklahoma 88-87 after Trent Pierce and Mark Mitchell hit buzzer 3s
- Barrett started, scored a career-high 21 and assisted Pierce’s long 3-pointer.
- Win lifts Missouri resume but leaves NCAA bid uncertain with Quad 1 woes
On the brink of dropping a third straight game — and potentially slashing the team’s hopes of a run in March — Mark Mitchell rescued his Missouri Tigers with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the clock expired in Columbia.
It was hardly the first buzzer-beater Saturday in a wild overtime finish at Mizzou Arena.
“I’m still in shock,” Mitchell told reporters postgame.
The Missouri Tigers’ 88-87 win over the Oklahoma Sooners also involved late theatrics at the end of regulation. Trailing by one with 5.6 seconds left, the Tigers were in serious trouble. Mitchell had missed a layup, and Mizzou’s Trent Pierce fouled OU’s Tae Davis, who sunk a pair of free throws to put the Sooners’ lead at three, 81-78.
After a Dennis Gates timeout, Missouri inbounded to T.O. Barrett, who found Pierce near half court. Pierce drilled a long-range 3 that tied the score as the regulation buzzer sounded — for his first made shot of the game, no less.
Then Mitchell, who led Mizzou with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, had his own superhero moment in the extra period.
“That was just a blessing from God,” Mitchell said. “You dream to have moments like that. It was a back and forth game, and even when I made the shot, I was like, ‘What just happened?’”
Heading into those final seconds, Mitchell said he wasn’t thinking about anything other than getting a shot off before the buzzer.
“I was just going to shoot it and hope for the best,” Mitchell said. “... I knew it wasn’t off. I can’t say for sure I knew it was in, but my mind was just clear. ... If I miss: The game is over, we fought and it happens. And the best thing that can happen is it goes in, and it’s a celebration.”
Both game-saving shots were about as unlikely as it gets. The Tigers bullied Oklahoma inside, with 40 points in the paint, but shot just 4-for-19 (21%) from 3 outside of those last-second heaves.
“Our guys fought,” Gates said. “They scratched, they clawed, they were able to pick up from each other’s mistakes.”
The Sooners (11-9, 1-6 SEC), on the other end, shot 12-for-27 from 3 for 44.4%.
Barrett made his first career start as a Tiger in place of Anthony Robinson II. Robinson had struggled from the field in the four contests since Missouri’s upset of Kentucky, shooting 20.8% in those games. The Tigers turned to the sophomore for a change of pace, which ended up paying off.
Gates revealed postgame that he made the decision right before tipoff, just as he was due to submit the starting lineup.
“T.O. didn’t practice with (the) first team,” Gates said. “At all. He has never practiced on that side. ... Ant Robinson wasn’t informed, nobody was informed.”
Barrett posted a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He added six rebounds and two assists, none bigger than his feed to Pierce for the buzzer-beater at the end of regulation.
“It means the world,” Barrett said of his first start — and feeling supported by his teammates. “That’s why we’re a great team. We’ve got people that don’t care about what happens, they want to see us win. Off the court, on the court, we’re (close), we’re tight.”
With the victory, Mizzou (14-6, 4-3 SEC) avoided a third straight defeat in a month that began with some history.
The Tigers earned their first-ever win at Rupp Arena back on Jan. 7. Since the calendar had turned to 2026, things appeared to be trending up for the Tigers, who also defeated defending national champion Florida a game prior.
But SEC play can be unforgiving, and the Tigers had dropped three of four entering Saturday’s game. And even after the win, a tough schedule is ahead for the Tigers.
Entering the weekend, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed Missouri as a “next four out” team, meaning the Tigers have work to do to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. There is just over a month to go before the SEC Tournament.
Notably, the Tigers have a 2-4 record in Quad 1 games, with seven potential Quad 1 contests to play, four against ranked opponents.
- Jan. 27: at No. 17 Alabama
- Feb. 11: at Texas A&M
- Feb. 18: vs. No. 15 Vanderbilt
- Feb. 21: at No. 20 Arkansas
- Feb. 24: vs. Tennessee
- March 3: at Oklahoma
- Mar. 7: vs. No. 20 Arkansas
Some good news: With Saturday’s home win, Mizzou moves to 2-2 in Quad 2.
Next up: The Tigers head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, against a team currently in the national spotlight. Tipoff against Alabama is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Crimson Tide feature 7-foot center Charles Bediako, who according to an ESPN article is “the first player with collegiate experience to sign an NBA contract and get the chance to return to college basketball.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 4:27 PM.
