Oklahoma boosts tournament hopes with win over No. 15 Missouri

Oklahoma Sooners guard Kobe Elvis (1) gestures after scoring a three point basket against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma boosts tournament hopes with huge win over No. 15 Missouri

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 10:55 PM ET

After scoring 110 points against Alabama just two weeks ago, it appeared that Missouri was one of the nation's best teams and would be rolling into March with a ton of momentum.

Since then, the Tigers have dropped three of their last four games and could be in danger of falling out of the Top 25 before heading into the SEC Tournament.

SOONERS WIN ️ pic.twitter.com/BbnEqilQwY
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 6, 2025

It is the Tigers' second straight loss to an unranked opponent and any bit of momentum they had after beating Alabama is long gone.

Missouri struggled mightily from three-point range, going just 9-for-31 (29%), a bit lower than its season percentage of 37.6%.

Free-throw shooting was also a struggle, as it shot 79.2% compared to Oklahoma's 96.2%.

Mark Mitchell (18 points, 7-for-8 FG) and Caleb Grill (16 points, 4-for-11 3PT) were bright spots on what was a bad night for the Tigers.

An 8-0 run and a Caleb Grill gives us our first lead of the game!#MIZ pic.twitter.com/OI6O7Gp93r
— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) March 6, 2025

The win for Oklahoma was huge for its tournament hopes, as ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Sooners as his "First Team Out" in his latest bracketology update on Tuesday morning.

Jeremiah Fears would simply not be denied, as he finished the game with a career high 31 points. It was just the second game this season with 30-plus points for the Oklahoma freshman.

Appears the #Sooners are going to secure perhaps their best win of the season when they needed it most.

Jeremiah Fears has 27 after the and-1 pic.twitter.com/mtTWU9XN0b
— Colton Sulley (@colton_sulley) March 6, 2025

With the win, Oklahoma now has its biggest game of the season upcoming on Saturday when it travels to Austin to match up with Texas.

A win for the Sooners would likely clinch their spot in the NCAA Tournament and a loss would send the Sooners reeling and force them to win the SEC Tournament and get the automatic conference bid into the March Madness.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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