'I Was in Shock': How Mizzou Reacted to Two Buzzer-Beaters to Beat Oklahoma

Missouri made buzzer-beater 3s in regulation and overtime to earn a win over Oklahoma.

Jan 24, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers forward Mark Mitchell (25) celebrates after a buzzer beater to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners in overtime at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — If it weren't for what Mark Mitchell called "a blessing from God," Missouri's last gasp against Oklahoma would've been a layup that Mitchell missed. The ball circled around the rim with five seconds remaining, allowing the Sooners to maintain a one-point lead. That turned into three points after Tae Davis made two free throws for Oklahoma.

Some fans at Mizzou Arena had already left the stands. But Trent Pierce gave the Tigers more life.

After catching a pass from the edge of the logo, the forward heaved a shot as the clock expired. He held his stance, keeping his wrist pointed as it fell through.

Oklahoma could've tried to foul Missouri instead of even letting Pierce have the opportunity to shoot it, possibly not even allowing the Tigers a shot at getting the three points they needed. But Oklahoma coach Porter Moser specifically told his team not to foul, changing his thought process in reaction to the NCAA's new continuous motion rule on shooting fouls, which allows players who are fouled to still finish the shot attempt.

"It's changed my philosophy whether you foul (when) up 3," Moser explained. "With that new rule if you have contact, the continuation, I've watched it over and over. So we decided not to foul. We were putting our big on the in-bounder and we were supposed to go straight to Pierce. We just kind of ran at the ball, and Pierce still had to hit it."

In the first four minutes of the overtime period, the two teams combined to score just eight points.

"We had to defend at a high level," Gates said of the keys heading into overtime. "Our zone disrupted them a little bit, and there was some shots that we didn't contest (in the second half)."

Missouri guard T.O. Barrett, making his first career start, fought for a layup to tie the game at 85 with 24 seconds remaining. But the Sooners responded with Xzayvier Brown laying in a teardrop shot to put Oklahoma up 87-85 with 4.8 seconds remaining. Missouri had no timeouts and would need to make it all the way down the court to get up a shot.

"I seen the ball go in, and I just was thinking, 'Well, we got to get a shot off, and there's only four seconds left,'" Mitchell said. so I was really trying to keep going, get downhill, maybe something like that.

Mitchell spent the first 3.6 of those seconds racing up the court, approaching three Oklahoma defenders outside of the 3-point arc.

"I just seen that they build a wall, and I was like, I'm just gonna shoot it and hope for the best,'" Mitchell recalled.

He spent the last 1.2 seconds and after watching his shot fall through the net just after the board turned red.

"You dream of moments like this. ... When I made the shot, I was lowkey like, 'what just happened?'" Mitchell said. "I'm still in shock."

"I saw three hands once Mark took off from the ground," head coach Dennis Gates said. "Before we knew it, one guy (defender) hit the ground because gravity defeated him, then another guy hit the ground, gravity defeated him. Mark still is floating, and I'm just sitting there from the sideline watching. He sort of kicked his feet, defeated gravity, still in the air. That last hand sort of dropped. Mark is still in the air. I said, 'this is going in' to myself."

Never in doubt 😉@Mark_mitchell25 // #MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/isQHP6xLiV

— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) January 24, 2026

The margin between two different realities can sometimes be so slim.

Had Pierce not made the 3 to end regulation, Missouri would have fell to 3-4 in SEC play after suffering a third straight loss. The most memorable thing Mitchell did in the game would've been missing a layup that virtually would've killed Missouri's season.

Instead, two buzzer-beaters have Missouri remaining above water and entering the next week of SEC play with a needed confidence boost. Mitchell moved on from the frustrating miss to create one of the most memorable plays of his career.

"Knowing him, it was just the confidence to know he wasn't looking for anybody else, and he executed what we needed him to execute with no timeouts, being able to knock down that shot and have an awareness and confidence to do it," Gates said. "... Our players make plays, and Mark Mitchell made a hell of a play."