The Oklahoma Sooners are in a tailspin, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Losers of five straight and sitting at 11-8 overall, 1-5 in SEC play, they’re heading into a tough road test against a familiar foe in Missouri. The Sooners are desperate for a spark - any kind of momentum - but they’ll have to find it in one of the toughest environments in the SEC: Mizzou Arena.
Let’s not sugarcoat it - this is a crisis point for Porter Moser’s squad. The five-game skid matches the longest losing streak of his tenure in Norman, and another loss would mark the program’s worst stretch since the 2017-18 season, when even Trae Young couldn’t stop a six-game slide in Big 12 play. That’s the kind of company you don’t want to keep, especially with a fanbase growing restless and postseason hopes fading fast.
Saturday’s matchup will be the 215th meeting between these two old rivals, dating back to 1916. Oklahoma holds a 116-98 edge in the all-time series, but history offers little comfort when you’re walking into Columbia.
The Sooners are just 30-63 all-time in road games at Missouri - and that includes last year’s 82-58 drubbing at Mizzou Arena. The two teams split last season’s matchups, each defending their home court.
This year, they’ll face off twice again as part of Oklahoma’s SEC schedule, which also includes home-and-home series with Texas and Texas A&M.
Missouri: High-Octane Offense Meets Home-Court Dominance
The Tigers aren’t exactly cruising either - they’ve dropped three of their last four - but they’re still 13-6 overall and 3-3 in SEC play, and more importantly, they’ve been nearly untouchable at home. Missouri is 11-1 in Columbia this season and 29-3 over the past two years.
Their only home loss this year? A narrow 74-72 defeat to Georgia earlier this week.
Offensively, Missouri brings the heat. They’re fourth in the SEC in scoring at 83.6 points per game and boast one of the most efficient attacks in the league.
The Tigers shoot 48.2% from the field (second in the SEC) and knock down 36.7% of their threes, averaging nearly nine makes from deep per game. That kind of firepower has been a difference-maker under head coach Dennis Gates.
When Missouri scores 80 or more, they’re 35-8 over the last four seasons. When they don’t?
Just 15-34.
Senior forward Mark Mitchell and graduate guard Jayden Stone lead the charge, averaging 17.0 and 15.3 points per game, respectively. Stone has been especially consistent, hitting double figures in five straight and 11 of the last 12 games. If either gets hot early, it could be a long night for the Sooners.
Oklahoma: Searching for Answers on the Road
The road has not been kind to Oklahoma this season. They’re just 3-6 away from the Lloyd Noble Center and 1-4 in true road games.
And it’s not just the results - it’s the way they’ve struggled to execute. While the Sooners shoot a respectable 46.8% overall, that number plummets to 38.9% in SEC road games.
From beyond the arc, it’s even worse: just 24.4% on the road in conference play. That kind of shooting won’t cut it against a Missouri team that can light it up on the other end.
Still, there are bright spots. Junior guard Xzayvier Brown has emerged as the go-to scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game and delivering 20-plus in four of OU’s six SEC contests.
He poured in 22 against South Carolina earlier this week and continues to be one of the few consistent offensive threats for the Sooners. His scoring prowess has him tied for the most 20-point games in SEC play, alongside Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Kentucky’s Otega Oweh - a former Sooner himself.
Another key contributor is Miami transfer Nijel Pack, who ranks fourth in the SEC in both made threes per game (3.0) and three-point percentage (41.0). But Pack has hit a cold spell at the worst possible time, going just 2-for-17 from deep in his last two games. If Oklahoma is going to have any shot on Saturday, they’ll need Pack to find his rhythm again.
One interesting wrinkle: Oklahoma is one of just nine Division I programs (out of 361) that has started the same five players in every game this season. Four of those five are transfers in their first year with the program. That kind of continuity is rare - especially in today’s transfer-heavy landscape - but it hasn’t translated to consistent results, particularly on the road.
Stat to Watch: Shooting Efficiency
If there’s one stat that could tell the story of this game, it’s field-goal percentage. Missouri ranks second in the SEC in shooting at 48.2% during conference play.
Oklahoma? Dead last at 41.6%.
If the Sooners can’t close that gap - or at least slow down Missouri’s efficient offense - it’s going to be tough to keep pace, especially in a hostile environment.
The Bottom Line
Missouri’s home-court advantage is real, and it’s been a house of horrors for the Sooners for decades. Combine that with Oklahoma’s current form, and it’s hard to see this as the game where things suddenly turn around. The Sooners need a jolt - something to snap them out of this funk - but this might not be the venue where that happens.
For Oklahoma, the urgency is sky-high. For Missouri, it’s a chance to get right back on track in front of a home crowd that’s seen a lot of winning lately. Tipoff is set for Saturday, and all eyes will be on whether the Sooners can stop the bleeding - or if the Tigers will add another chapter to Oklahoma’s growing list of road woes.