Oklahoma advances in NIT, knocks off Missouri State 89-72

Oklahoma senior guard Umoja Gibson poured in 28 points as the Sooners knocked off Missouri State, 89-72, in the first round of the NIT.

How Oklahoma approached its NCAA Tournament snub was always going to be a big factor in how well the Sooners performed after earning a No. 1 seed in the NIT.

So far, so good. Oklahoma (19-15, 7-11 Big 12) looked engaged and motivated in dismantling Missouri State inside the Lloyd Noble Center, 89-72. Senior guard Umoja Gibson got it going early and finished 8-for-17 from the floor and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers as he scored 28 points.

Redshirt senior point guard Jordan Goldwire chipped in 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and the Sooners shot 12-of-25 from 3-point range as a team. Redshirt senior forward Ethan Chargois, senior center Tanner Groves and junior forward Jalen Hill were all near double-figures for OU as well. Chargois and Groves each finished with nine points, while Hill added eight of his own.

Missouri State junior guard Isiaih Mosley enjoyed a big game as well, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing 11-of-20 from the field to match Gibson’s 28 points. Senior forward Gaige Prim also added 14 points for the Bears, but Missouri State didn’t have enough outside of those two to hang with OU.

Oklahoma went on a 31-to-17 scoring run that began with Gibson’s layup just before halftime and culminated with Gibson canning a 3-pointer at the 10:05 mark of the second half to open up an 18-point advantage at 76-58. It was never in doubt for the Sooners from that point forward.

Oklahoma will now play the winner of Colorado (23-11) and Saint Bonaventure (20-9) on Sunday inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. On the opposite end of Oklahoma’s portion of the NIT bracket, Mississippi State (18-15) plays Virginia (19-13) and North Texas (24-6) takes on Texas State (21-7).

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