Oklahoma
3 Takeaways from No. 15 Mizzou’s Loss at Oklahoma
The No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers have quickly turned from a team that looks poised to wreck some seasons in March, to one that has gone on a windy road down.
The Tigers fell 96-84 to Oklahoma Wednesday night, marking its third loss in the last four games.
The Tigers need to find their footing again to make the sort of damage they showed the capability of having earlier in the season in multiple upset wins.
The loss against Oklahoma included the continuation of multiple concerning trends. Here’s three takeaways from Missouri’s ninth loss on the year.
The code to break into the interior of the Missouri defense was relatively easy to crack for Oklahoma, who scored 48 points in the paint. Oklahoma shot 69 percent from the field in the first half, nearly 22 percent above its average of 47.1 percent.
Missouri has now allowed over 90 points per game in four of its last five games, with a home matchup against South Carolina being the only exception.
Missouri’s defense did do a solid job on the glass, limiting Oklahoma to just eight offensive rebounds while the Tiger defense grabbed 17. And Josh Gray was productive with his five minutes, grabbing five rebounds.
But the aggressiveness that was a staple of Missouri’s defensive identity early in conference play has dissipated. At some points, it seemed like Oklahoma could get what it wanted on the inside without much of a challenge.
After allowing a 10-3 run early on that put Missouri down 14-6 at the 14:47 mark, head coach Dennis Gates looked to switch things up. But none of the lineups really found a consistent seal defensively, with Gates rolling out 13 different players.
Defense certainly hasn’t been the strong suit for Missouri all season. But it’s become especially concerning over this final stretch.
Against the three SEC teams Missouri had to play twice this season (Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma), the Tigers won all three by an average of 17 points, with all three of those first matchups coming at Mizzou Arena.
But, when Missouri had to face off against those teams on the road, it’s been a different story.
The Tigers have now lost all three of those rematches by an average margin of defeat of 6.3 points.
“I think the second matchup is just is all preparation, teams get a feel each other” Gates said of what matters in a rematch during a press conference Tuesday. “Teams obviously gets a sort of reinvigoration of redemption. But the most important thing is that when I look at our conference, it’s about what you do before the game. Are you recovering how you need to recover from the standpoint of the emotional and mental toll that the season can put on your players?”
There’s the confounding variable to consider with this situation with all three of the second matches come on the road, which also hasn’t been Missouri’s strong suit this year. But the inability to win in any rematches is a possible red flag that shouldn’t be dismissed heading into the SEC Tournament.
A crucial point of Missouri’s identity this season has been its ability to get to the free-throw line more often than its opponents. It averages 7.8 more free-throw attempts per game than its opponents, the most in the SEC. Missouri’s opponents on average take 19.4 free-throw attempts per game.
Recent games though have been above both of those averages.
Wednesday night though, Oklahoma closed that gap and took 26 free-throw attempts compared to Missouri’s 24. The Tigers made 19 of those attempts and the Sooners 25 of theirs.
This, again, has been a trend headed in the right direction for Missouri. Vanderbilt took 24 attempts and Arkansas a staggering 37 to Missouri’s 17.
Less than three weeks ago, Missouri’s ability to use the free-throw discrepancy to its advantadge was on full display in a win over No. 4 Alabama — Missouri took 47 attempts from the free-throw line while Alabama took just 21.
Gates isn’t the one blowing the whistle. Sometimes, the calls won’t bounce Missouri’s way. But the increase in opponent free-throw attempts in recent games is certainly something to watch moving forward.
NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.
The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.
No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.
Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.
Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.
Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.
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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.
Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.
In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve
LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.
In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.
Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.
Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.
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New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
Iowa State wrestling’s first commitment of the Brent Metcalf era will be a transfer portal addition.
The Cyclones added Oklahoma State transfer Brayden Thompson, who announced his commitment on April 18 via Instagram. Thompson is a one-time NCAA qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Championships, doing so as a true freshman. He redshirted in 2024-25, but competed in open tournaments at 184 pounds and was 9-0. He did not wrestle a match in 2025-26 and will have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Out of high school, Thompson was ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler and No. 1 at 182 pounds in the 2023 recruiting class by Flowrestling. He also won Powerade and Ironman titles, two of the more prestigious high school tournaments in the nation. Assuming Thompson returns to 184 pounds where he last wrestled, he should fill in nicely as a potential replacement for Isaac Dean after his graduation.
Thompson is Iowa State’s first transfer portal addition after several departures, including Anthony Echemendia and Christian Castillo, who also entered the portal.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
NORMAN — The Oklahoma Sooners liked their wide receiver room a year ago. They want 2026 to be even better.
Isaiah Sategna’s return helps that desire. Earning experienced pass catchers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone via the transfer portal gives you added play makers. But after the Sooners Spring Game on Saturday, an unlikely hero emerged.
When Jahsiear Rogers flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma last December, he drew the usual excitement that comes with a new commitment. But few expected him to climb the depth chart this quickly, even with the injuries that hit Emmett Jones’ room.
Rogers did just that and more on Saturday. He led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White game.
“I knew it was time to showcase,” Rogers said after the game. “It was amazing to see the fans and get used to the OU way. I’m a playmaker. They really want to put the ball in playmakers hands. I pretty much knew I had to lead the white team.”
Rogers got the ball rolling early. On the second offensive play for the white team, backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer rolled to his right wide, then stopped and looked towards the middle of the field where he saw Rogers running open. Newbauer connected with Rogers for a 39-yard gain.
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With Rogers on the white team, he is running against (most of) Oklahoma’s starting defense. As fate would have it, on that 39-yard reception, Rogers beat his favorite teammate to compete against — Reggie Powers.
“He is just a leader, good guy,” Rogers said of Powers. “Me and him go after it every day in practice. Reggie is strong. When I come at him, I have to really come at him.”
Rogers’ big play over Powers was the second-longest catch of the spring game — Sategna’s 50-yard reception that appeared to be a touchdown before coaches pulled it back to set up a red-zone rep. The other four catches weren’t flashy, but they were important in their own way, and Rogers looked like he belonged on the field.
“I love it. As long as I can get the ball, I can be me. I love it,” Rogers said. “When I am on the field, I am ready to go. I am ready to be a playmaker.”
The season is still months away, and Rogers hasn’t earned a spot high on the depth chart yet. A strong spring and an encouraging Red/White Game can only lead to early playing time if he carries that momentum into summer and fall camp.
More experienced players will return from injury and receivers who’ve been in the program for a few years will have an extra leg-up.
But Rogers is taking everything in stride and leaving no stone unturned in his development.
“Just learning from the older guys,” Rogers said. “Manny Choice, Isaiah Sategna, Trell Harris, Mackenzie Alleyne. Really all of them. We lean on each other, learn from each other. That is kind of how our room is.”
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