Mark Mitchell, Paint Aggressiveness Propels No. 21 Mizzou Past Oklahoma

How do you score the basketball when your 3-point shot is largely neutralized? For the No. 21-ranked Missouri Tigers Wednesday night, it found a rather simple solution: attack the paint.

In Missouri's home 82-58 win over the Oklahoma Sooners, its 4-of-12 shooting on 3-pointers was hardly a factor for most of the contest. The likes of Caleb Grill and Jacob Crews were hounded anywhere behind the arc in the first half, so it attacked the interior of the Oklahoma defense instead. By the end of the game, the Tigers recorded 40 points in the paint and a whopping 26-of-35 from the free-throw line.

The major factor in the offensive push for Missouri was Mark Mitchell, who became its third player of the season to pass the career 1000-point mark. The forward dropped a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the field — but his 13-of-18 shooting on free throws was the big separator that gave the Sooners trouble.

After struggling to rebound the ball in his 12-point performance against the Texas A&M Aggies, coach Dennis Gates wasn't pleased. He sat Mitchell on the bench down the stretch, and told him the truth — which he accepted.

"I definitely would say I was a little motivated, but I was just trying to come out and get the win," Mitchell said. "(Gates) told me straight up, I need to rebound the ball better. I tried to do that tonight."

With teams starting to figure out the excellence of Grill's 3-point shot, he's struggled in recent games to find ways to score. Early on Oklahoma's prevention of any amounts of separation forced him to go in the paint, but once the lead got big enough in the second half things started to open up. That allowed the guard to finish the game with 15 points and five rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from deep.

The Tiger defense prevented the Sooners from receiving any sort of leeway, holding them to nearly 31% shooting from the field and 23% from the 3-point line, not to mention 17 forced turnovers. Tony Perkins totaled five steals alongside his 12 points and four rebounds, boosting fast break opportunities. Even one of the top scorers in the SEC, Jalon Moore, was held to just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Standout freshman Jeremiah Fears also struggled shooting the ball, ending his night with eight points, seven rebounds and three turnovers on 3-of-13 shooting from the field. Throwing different defensive looks at him prevented him from building much momentum.

"We just wanted to throw different looks at him, not give him open looks," Gates said. "I just want you to understand the depth of our team. That's where we were able to get an advantage, and I thought our depth showed."

With the win, Missouri snapped its two-game losing streak that followed after losses to the Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M. It now holds a 18-6 record overall and 7-4 in the SEC, while Oklahoma dropped to a 16-8 record overall and 3-8 in the conference.

"We always try to bounce back regardless. Make some changes and developed what we selected in one game," Perkins said. "Nobody's undefeated, so every team has something they need to work on."

To end the Tigers' first two possessions, Anthony Robinson II and Mitchell both converted successful layup attempts to get the offense jumpstarted. It only took until the 17:42 mark for Grill and Josh Gray to get in on the action, as Grill got to the basket to make it 9-5 with 16:17 remaining before the U16 timeout.

Missouri as a whole — but specifically Mitchell — was able to get looks inside the paint earlier on as the Sooners honed in on the 3-point line. By the 12:33 mark, the forward had already amassed seven points and 3-of-4 attempts from the charity stripe to increase the lead to 16-11.

The Tigers kept up much of the same pace throughout the first half. Mostly relying on the paint to get their points, as well as keeping up the intensity on the defensive end, helped them keep a 31-21 advantage with 3:54 remaining. By then Missouri only had made 2-of-3 3-pointers — one from Grill and one from Crews.

Mitchell went on to end the half with 19 points, leading the way for a total of 14-of-18 makes from the free-throw line. With a dominating 44-24 lead heading into the locker room, the Tigers were clearly in. command.

That position hardly swayed the other away for Missouri. It maintained a similar amount of success on the offensive end, though Oklahoma started to find a rhythm itself. It cut the deficit to 56-40 at the 11:48 mark, but that still left a long way to pose any threat of a comeback.

Shots from behind the arc started to fall for the Tigers, too. Finally gaining some separation, Grill knocked down back-to-back 3-point attempts to put them up 67-42 with 9:33 remaining. Followed up by an and-one conversion from Marcus Allen and two more points for Robinson, the game was all but a wrap.

From there, it was simply about letting the clock drain and preventing any late surges from the Sooners, which Missouri accomplished in stride. All four active freshman — Allen, Peyton Marshall, T.O. Barrett and Annor Boateng suited up in the final stretch of the game.

The Tigers will look to carry the momentum on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs (16-9, 4-8) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Stegeman Coliseum.