MISSOURI TIGERS 67

OKLAHOMA STATE 59

RECAP:

OKLAHOMA CITY – A limited Byron Eaton. A lack of 3-pointers. A loss of a chance for Oklahoma State to play for the Big 12 championship.

The Cowboys missed their first 16 threes but stayed in the game until the final minutes before No. 3 Missouri ended Oklahoma State’s tournament run with timely shooting in a 67-59 win Friday at the Ford Center.

Both teams struggled mightily from the arc in the first half, and the game. The Tigers made just 2-of-16 in the first half, but the Cowboys didn’t make any of their nine first half attempts.

“It definitely affects us when we are not making threes,” said OSU forward Marshall Moses. “We have big-time 3-point shooters on our team and that’s a big part of what we do. When we are not making threes, we have to dig in deeper on defense and follow the game plan to a tee even more to make up for the shots we don’t make.”

That was the difference down the stretch. The Cowboys didn’t follow the game plan, while Missouri relied on its defense to get them through its shooting slump.

“Offense can come and go. I will tell you, it went south tonight,” said Missouri coach Mike Anderson. “Thing you got to continue to do is play defense. I thought coming out in the second half, it was important to get the momentum. I thought we did and we were more in attack mode.”

With just over six minutes remaining, and the Cowboys trailing, Obi Muonelo hit the Cowboys first 3-pointer. That got the unusually quiet Cowboy crowd to their feet as the game’s momentum began to switch. But, Missouri answered right back.

“They hadn’t made any threes either. They started making them and, boy, you could just see the crowd got into it,” Anderson said. “But to our guys’ credit, we answered every call.”

Zaire Taylor hit three treys to lead the Tigers with 19 points after a rough start to the game. Taylor said the OSU defenders were sinking below the screen opening up free looks for him, which helped him get on the right track.

“I felt like they didn’t respect me as a shooter,” he said. “Coach had to tell me to shoot. Once he told me, I felt it made me feel that much more confident in my own shot just knowing that he believed in me and that my teammates believed in me because they set the screens.”

Byron Eaton went down with a knee injury midway through the first half, which forced freshman Keiton Page to run the team. Page, a night after scoring 15 points, struggled offensively and didn’t score a point.

“At times I think – he did a pretty good job the whole time, but he kind of – I don’t know. He wasn’t prepared mentally for the challenge,” said OSU guard James Anderson.

Eaton came back to start the second half after having to be helped off the court during the first. He too struggled and turned the ball over eight times in a 0-of-7 performance from the field.

Still, Eaton’s courage in a losing effort drew praise from Anderson.

“What can you say about Eaton? He has the heart of a lion,” Anderson said. “The guy came right back and still continued to have an impart on the game.”

No. 3 Missouri now plays tournament Cinderella No. 9 seed Baylor at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

QUOTEABLE:

“Byron is okay. I feel good about our team. Somebody asked me, ‘Were we tired because of three games in three days and we don’t play a lot of guys?’ I told them tonight, ‘Yeah.’ If we were making shots, you don’t think about being tired.” – Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford

“It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but sometimes ugly is better for us.” – Missouri coach Mike Anderson.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Zaire Taylor, guard, Missouri (19 points)

Taylor made three of Missouri’s six treys in the game, and did so at critical times.

WHAT IT MEANS:

No. 3 Missouri vs. No. 9 Baylor at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Missouri has to face a hot Baylor team in the Big 12 Championship finale. Baylor is fighting for a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, while Missouri is hoping to gain a higher seed. Tigers’ players and their coach both said they aren’t the type of team that gets beat by an underdog. “We are not that team. You have to come out and dominate somebody,” Missouri forward Leo Lyons said.