Mizzou
Ryan Spangler had a season-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and No. 22 Oklahoma dismantled Missouri, 82-63, in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge game on Friday.
Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Isaiah Cousins netted 16 for the Sooners (5-2), who had a week to reflect on their 69-56 loss at No. 2 Wisconsin before returning to the court. Hield and Cousins both made three 3-pointers.
Houston transfer TaShawn Thomas added nine points and five blocks.
Johnathan Williams III led Missouri (4-4) with 16 points and eight rebounds and Montaque Gill-Caesar scored 15 in the setback.
The Tigers haven’t been .500 through eight games since the 2005-06 season, which is also the last time they finished with a losing record.
“We are a young team and we are trying to learn,” said Missouri coach Kim Anderson. “Oklahoma did a great job at putting pressure on us and forcing us to turn the ball over at crucial times.”
Missouri was the better team out of the gate, with Keith Shamburger’s 3- pointer highlighting a 9-3 start.
Out of the first media timeout, Cousins and Dinjiyl Walker hit triples on consecutive possessions to tie the game, and Oklahoma took its first lead at 11:53 when Cousins again found the range.
The Sooners created some distance with a 13-2 run, and Spangler beat the buzzer with a 3 to make it 37-25 at halftime.
Hield scored five straight during a 15-0 flurry to open the second half, and Oklahoma led comfortably the rest of the way.
“In the second half I got going a little bit, and I was able to extend my range out a little bit and make some shots,” said Hield. “It is good to see some shots go down. I couldn’t do it without my teammates helping me and talking to me.”
