Jadon Jones had a season-high 13 points to lead Oklahoma to an 80-64 win over Missouri on Tuesday in Norman, Okla.
The Sooners (16-14, 6-11 Southeastern Conference) have won three consecutive games and five of their last seven to at least keep alive a sliver of hope for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Xzayvier Brown, Tae Davis and Derrion Reid each scored 12 for the Sooners.
Oklahoma did it with efficient, opportunistic offense that took advantage of the turnovers it created on the defensive end.
It was a far cry from the first meeting between the teams, Jan. 24 at Missouri, when the Tigers won 88-87 on Mark Mitchell’s buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer in overtime.
Mitchell led Missouri (20-10, 10-7) with 17 points this time, while Anthony Robinson II added 14 and Trent Pierce chipped in 11.
The Sooners led nearly the entire way in the rematch.
Missouri took only one lead, 9-8, a little more than seven minutes into the game after Oklahoma coach Porter Moser was called for a technical foul.
T.O. Barrett hit the second of two free throws to put the Tigers up for the only time in the game, but then after a missed shot by Missouri, Jones drained a 3-pointer to end the Tigers’ 7-0 run and give the Sooners the lead for good.
Jones hit all five shots he took, including three 3-pointers. He also finished with a season-high eight rebounds.
The Sooners finished 62.2% from the floor, their best shooting percentage in conference play and their second-best of the season.
Oklahoma finished with just one fewer turnover than Missouri, 16-15, but outscored the Tigers 25-13 off those turnovers.
The Sooners narrowly won the rebounding battle, 28-26, and overcame scoring no second-chance points on seven offensive boards while Missouri had eight on 10 offensive rebounds.
Oklahoma steadily stretched the lead to as big as 22 with 5:45 remaining before Missouri made a late push to cut the deficit to 11 in the final two minutes.
The Tigers made just 1 of 9 3-pointers in the first half, finishing the game 8-of-24 from outside the arc (33.3%).
–Field Level Media
