Mizzou basketball falls to Oklahoma in Norman. That changes the postseason math
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Loss in Norman leaves Mizzou tied for fifth and needing conference help.
- Oklahoma’s hot shooting and defense produced an 80-64 win and margin control.
- Missouri’s turnovers and slow start undermined double-bye hopes before senior day.
Tuesday’s trip to Norman, Oklahoma, ideally would have kept the Missouri Tigers in play for the double-bye in the SEC Tournament.
Now, they need help from the rest of the conference after a loss.
As the calendar turned to March, Mizzou dropped an important SEC contest by a lopsided margin. Mizzou couldn’t keep pace with an aggressive Oklahoma Sooners squad, which overwhelmed the Tigers offensively to win 80-64.
Oklahoma shot 54.5% (12-for-22) from 3 for the game, and 62.2% from the field. The Tigers had their own woes, going just 8-for-24 (33.3%) from 3 and 47.1% overall.
“Shot a blistering percentage from the field,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said of the Sooners.
A slow start marred the Tigers’ hope of keeping pace, as Missouri opened shooting 1-for-9 from 3. The first Mizzou 3-point make finally came after 11 minutes, courtesy of Jayden Stone. Oklahoma led by as many as 12 points in the first half.
Mizzou (20-10, 10-7 SEC) never seemed to have an answer for the Sooners — on either end. Oklahoma totaled four blocks against the Tigers and grabbed eight steals.
The one Missouri advantage would have been in forcing turnovers — the Tigers forced 15 for the game — but the visitors committed 16 of their own, which the Sooners (16-14, 6-11) turned into 25 points. Missouri scored just 13 points off turnovers.
The Tigers also gave the Sooners too many chances at the line. Missouri committed 19 personal fouls, with guards T.O. Barrett and Anthony Robinson eventually fouling out. Robinson fouled out with just over five minutes left. Barrett followed suit not even a minute later.
“That was a game in which we shot ourselves in the foot,” Gates said. “Gave up 16 turnovers to their 25 points off turnovers.”
Regardless, Gates said postgame he wished the Tigers would have fouled more — Oklahoma went just 60% from the line on 20 attempts.
“That seemed to be the misses that they had,” Gates said.
At the time of Barrett’s departure, Oklahoma had an 18-point lead. Mizzou did cut it down to 11 toward the end, but it never got closer.
The Tigers hurt themselves at the line, too, going 8-for-16 themselves.
“We gotta regroup and go back to the drawing board,” Gates said.
Mark Mitchell led Mizzou with 17 points. He went 6-for-6 from the field. Trent Pierce added 11 points and Robinson scored 14 before fouling out.
Mizzou could still earn a double-bye in the conference tournament, but it’s not fully in the Tigers’ hands. The final game day of the regular season will begin with the Tigers tied for fifth place. They’ll take on Arkansas at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, for senior day.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 8:56 PM.
