Oklahoma dominates in paint, hands Mizzou back-to-back losses

NORMAN, Okla. (KMIZ)

No. 15 Mizzou Men's Basketball is searching for answers to solve its interior defensive struggles.

The Tigers (21-9) allowed 48 points in the paint to Oklahoma (18-12), leading to a 96-84 loss at Lloyd Noble Center. With Wednesday's loss, Mizzou is out of contention for a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

MU has now allowed 96 points in the paint in its two straight losses to the Sooners and Vanderbilt Commodores.

After Oklahoma assembled a 12-6 advantage at the first media timeout with 10 points in the paint, Mizzou rallied to take its first lead. Caleb Grill ended a 12-2 scoring run with a three-pointer, giving the Tigers a two-point advantage.

However, OU responded to Grill's triple by scoring 17 of the next 22 points to build a double-digit lead. The Sooners scored 30 first half points in the paint and stretched their lead to as many as 15 points in the first 20 minutes.

Oklahoma extended its advantage to 18 points in the second half, its largest lead of the game, but Mizzou did make a push towards the lead late. The Tigers cut their deficit down to eight points on several occasions but could not string together enough defensive stops to make a comeback.

The Sooners shot 57% from the field, propelled by a career-best 31 points from Jeremiah Fears.

Mark Mitchell posted a team-high 18 points, closely followed by Grill with 16 points and a game-best eight rebounds. Marques Warrick also reached double figures with 10 points.

Up next - The Tigers will honor their seniors in their regular season finale on Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. against No. 19 Kentucky.