3 Takeaways from No. 15 Mizzou's Loss at Oklahoma

After a loss to the Sooners, are the Missouri Tigers headed in the wrong direction in March?

Mar 5, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Marques Warrick (1) dribbles the ball down the court against the Oklahoma Soooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers have quickly turned from a team that looks poised to wreck some seasons in March, to one that has gone on a windy road down.

The Tigers fell 96-84 to Oklahoma Wednesday night, marking its third loss in the last four games.

The Tigers need to find their footing again to make the sort of damage they showed the capability of having earlier in the season in multiple upset wins.

The loss against Oklahoma included the continuation of multiple concerning trends. Here's three takeaways from Missouri's ninth loss on the year.

Porous Defense

The code to break into the interior of the Missouri defense was relatively easy to crack for Oklahoma, who scored 48 points in the paint. Oklahoma shot 69 percent from the field in the first half, nearly 22 percent above its average of 47.1 percent.

Missouri has now allowed over 90 points per game in four of its last five games, with a home matchup against South Carolina being the only exception.

Missouri's defense did do a solid job on the glass, limiting Oklahoma to just eight offensive rebounds while the Tiger defense grabbed 17. And Josh Gray was productive with his five minutes, grabbing five rebounds.

Mar 5, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears (0) drives to the basket beside Missouri Tigers guard Mark Mitchell (25) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

But the aggressiveness that was a staple of Missouri's defensive identity early in conference play has dissipated. At some points, it seemed like Oklahoma could get what it wanted on the inside without much of a challenge.

After allowing a 10-3 run early on that put Missouri down 14-6 at the 14:47 mark, head coach Dennis Gates looked to switch things up. But none of the lineups really found a consistent seal defensively, with Gates rolling out 13 different players.

Defense certainly hasn't been the strong suit for Missouri all season. But it's become especially concerning over this final stretch.

Fool them once, a win for Mizzou. Fool them twice...

Against the three SEC teams Missouri had to play twice this season (Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma), the Tigers won all three by an average of 17 points, with all three of those first matchups coming at Mizzou Arena.

But, when Missouri had to face off against those teams on the road, it's been a different story.

The Tigers have now lost all three of those rematches by an average margin of defeat of 6.3 points.

 "I think the second matchup is just is all preparation, teams get a feel each other" Gates said of what matters in a rematch during a press conference Tuesday. "Teams obviously gets a sort of reinvigoration of redemption. But the most important thing is that when I look at our conference, it's about what you do before the game. Are you recovering how you need to recover from the standpoint of the emotional and mental toll that the season can put on your players?"

Feb 22, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

There's the confounding variable to consider with this situation with all three of the second matches come on the road, which also hasn't been Missouri's strong suit this year. But the inability to win in any rematches is a possible red flag that shouldn't be dismissed heading into the SEC Tournament.

Oklahoma closes the free-throw gap

A crucial point of Missouri's identity this season has been its ability to get to the free-throw line more often than its opponents. It averages 7.8 more free-throw attempts per game than its opponents, the most in the SEC. Missouri's opponents on average take 19.4 free-throw attempts per game.

Recent games though have been above both of those averages.

Wednesday night though, Oklahoma closed that gap and took 26 free-throw attempts compared to Missouri's 24. The Tigers made 19 of those attempts and the Sooners 25 of theirs.

Mar 5, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Missouri Tigers center Josh Gray (33) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

This, again, has been a trend headed in the right direction for Missouri. Vanderbilt took 24 attempts and Arkansas a staggering 37 to Missouri's 17.

Less than three weeks ago, Missouri's ability to use the free-throw discrepancy to its advantadge was on full display in a win over No. 4 Alabama — Missouri took 47 attempts from the free-throw line while Alabama took just 21.

Gates isn't the one blowing the whistle. Sometimes, the calls won't bounce Missouri's way. But the increase in opponent free-throw attempts in recent games is certainly something to watch moving forward.