NORMAN — This weekend might mark the first matchup between Oklahoma and Missouri in over 10 years, but that doesn’t mean there’s not familiarity between the two teams.

In fact, despite the break in competition, the connection between the two programs has only increased.

The Sooners and the Tigers were well-acquainted foes while both teams were in the Big 12, though the regularly-scheduled matchup was halted after Missouri joined the SEC in 2012. But whether it’s because Oklahoma has made its own jump to the SEC this season, or the well-known recruiting battles between the two teams over the last two years, there’s been a brewing rivalry ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Columbia (6:45 p.m. SEC Network).

But for OU coach Brent Venables, there hasn’t been any focus on outside noise heading into the weekend.

“They’re a program that’s going to recruit well in their own backyard,” Venables said. “It’s not spicy for me. Recruiting is incredibly competitive. Winning is incredibly hard. And we’re programs that certainly there’s a familiarity. But I don’t think (Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz) was on the staff, part of any of the past Oklahoma-Missouri meetings.

“And what happens in the past doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what happens in the future, good or bad. And that doesn’t mean it has to change either. But I believe in what’s in front of you right now. (So it’s maybe) spicy maybe for the media or the fans. But staff-wise, it hasn’t.”

Missouri is certainly a familiar opponent for Venables, who faced the Tigers nine times while he was an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 1999-2011. A handful of those games were high-level matchups — the two teams played each other in back-to-back years for the 2007 and 2008 Big 12 Championships, with the Sooners winning both matchups.

It’s largely been a dormant, distant memory since Missouri left for the SEC, but the two teams have been intertwined in recent years. The Tigers notably bested OU in the recruiting battle for 2024 five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri and then poached former five-star offensive lineman Cayden Green via the transfer portal last offseason.

While those two battles are at the center of the recent animosity, the two teams share other connections. Former OU receiver Theo Wease transferred to Missouri prior to last season and has become an impact player, and this season he leads the Tigers in receiving with 37 receptions for 482 yards. OU receiver JJ Hester also transferred from Missouri in 2022 and has been a pivotal part of the Sooners’ receiver rotation this season.

Venables, unprompted, discussed Wease and Green’s tenures at Oklahoma, acknowledging that the transfer portal has increased the chances that programs will battle each other for roster construction.

“In regards to Theo, our offensive staff at the time didn’t feel like he was — Theo probably felt the same — a major part of what we were doing, and he’s looking for an opportunity,” Venables said. “And he was nothing but great. He was a really good leader, did everything that we asked of him. And what a great example of what opportunity and development looks like. And he’s kept his head down and just worked. Had a fantastic year last year. He’s having a great year this year.

“I think Cayden went in there and was a starter. He (was) a starter for us. We’re not surprised that he has success. Cayden’s fantastic. He was a freshman All-American. And that’s the world that we live in now. Players are free to come and go as they please and look for what’s best for them. And there ain’t no time for bitterness and things like that. You’ve got to move on and adjust and pivot and get better.”

Hester, who recorded the team’s first 100-yard receiving game last weekend against Maine, expects it to be an interesting atmosphere this weekend in Columbia.

“It will definitely be a fun one,” Hester said last week. “I still have some guys over there. It will be a reunion, probably some nostalgia, for sure, being a transfer from there. I’m looking forward to it.

“(I Know) a lot of the guys on offense and defense. (Quarterback) Brady Cook. I know Luther (Burden). Guys on the defense. Obviously, we have an o-lineman over there. Couple of other dudes from OU, so obviously, it’s a little weird right now. I know a lot of guys over there still. It’ll be good to see them compete against them.”

But ultimately, the Sooners have to focus on snagging a much-needed win. They sit at 5-4 on the season and are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, while the Tigers (6-2, 2-2 SEC) have lost two of their last three conference games and may be without Cook this weekend.

So while the programs are certainly linked together, Venables is focusing on what’s ahead.

“(I have) a lot of good, fond memories (of playing Missouri),” Venables said. “It’ll be) two good programs going at it and it’ll be another great challenge for us this week.”

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At halftime, the Missouri Tigers looked like they had the game out of reach.

The bench production was clicking on all levels, the Tigers were forcing turnovers out of its zone defense and were running in transition, seemingly developing the start of an identity for this newly molded-together team. That quickly fell apart in the second half as Memphis did the same thing to them, with Missouri not having any answers on either side of the floor.

When you lead by 10 points at halftime, it’s a reasonable claim to expect to win. It’s not as if Missouri walked out in the second half relaxed because they had a lead, but everything in the first half pointed to them running away with it. Memphis matched their intensity on defense and began to force turnovers and bad shot attempts while getting star guard PJ Haggerty into transition. The flipping of the game plan on Missouri eventually resulted in the loss.

That being said, here are three takeaways from Missouri’s game-one defeat.

The Tigers brought out a fascinating starting lineup, one that did not feature transfer guards Tony Perkins and Marques Warrick. The first player off the bench was Perkins, who did not necessarily give the Tigers the production head coach Dennis Gates would have liked.

In the first half, sophomore forward Trent Pierce looked amazing, seemingly out of nowhere. He hit two threes in his first-half showing and finished with ten points in the half and 13 overall as the team’s second-leading scorer. Forward Aidan Shaw also made his presence felt, finishing with nine first-half points, all of which were momentum-building scores. Pierce and Shaw were the two biggest surprises off the bench, giving the Tigers much-needed scoring.

Though Perkins did not start, he gave Missouri a quality 21 minutes, a number that could likely ramp up and turn into a starting role. His four assists were the most helpful, primarily playing the point guard role when he was on the floor. He grabbed one steal and a block as well on the defensive end of the court.

The Tigers’ two-three zone defense clearly gave the Tigers the most effective results on the defensive side of the ball. Even when Memphis was hitting threes in the second half, many came in scramble situations.

Starting the half, forcing Memphis to score from the perimeter wasn’t a bad idea. They shot only 4-for-14 in that period and could not manage to put points on the board to close the gap with Missouri. The attempts Memphis was getting at that time were not comfortable ones either, many of which were contested or coming from a bad pass.

For some odd reason, the Tigers backed out of its zone when Memphis went on its run midway through the second half. They were getting to the free-throw line easily and had Missouri in foul trouble within five minutes of the start of the second period.

One thing was made evident in the solid first half from Missouri: the zone defense worked. Everyone was flying around and forcing steals and deflections and it allowed the Tigers to get out and run in transition. Zone defenses aren’t always sustainable for a whole game and can slow down the pace, but if it works, it works.

It looked like Gates and the Tigers had its rotation figured out in the first half. They were getting out in transition with Pierce and Anthony Robinson II, a surprising but effective decision. Pierce scored 10 points in the first half, knocking down two triples, a take at the rim and a massive fast break dunk. Nobody expected Robinson to play the minutes he did and the explosiveness from Pierce, as well as the lack of production from transfer forward Mark Mitchell, but what the Tigers put on the floor in the first half clearly worked.

That will be the over-arching theme the Tigers take away from the loss, being the first-half success. Gates saw firsthand five-man units that worked well together on both sides of the ball, even if that meant people were not getting in the game at all.

Gates sacrificed the playing time of star guard Tamar Bates in the first half because Robinson and company were clicking in multiple ways. Pierce and Shaw, who excelled in the first half, saw the floor in the following period for only five minutes each. Gates attributed that to the need for ball-handlers on the floor, but the length, defense and surprising offensive production both provided would have also been of assistance.

It is still very early in the season, and Gates and the staff are trying to find what works the best. Last season, Gates was not afraid to completely empty his bench for answers. Some consistency in that department might aid in team success, but for right now, it’s evident he is still searching.

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The season seemed to be starting on the right foot for the Missouri Tigers.

The team was diving for loose balls, Aidan Shaw and Trent Pierce had clearly taken steps forward in the offensive games, the Tigers were off and running turning steals into alley-oops much more reminiscent of the 2022-23 season than last year.

Then the second half came and a very familiar feeling fell over the game.

Missouri led by as many as 14 points, but Memphis was able to charge back for an 83-75 season-opening win Monday in Memphis.

“In that first half, I don’t think we executed on the turnovers and the mistakes like I thought we should,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “The second half, they did a tremendous job of getting to the paint and getting to the free-throw line. Being able to shoot that many free throws to obviously begin that half and our inability to keep them out the lane. Those two categories were the categories that allowed them to get 51 total points in the second half.”

After not starting, Iowa transfer Tony Perkins was the first player off the bench for the Tigers and hit a layup with 13:28 left to put Missouri in front 7-5, then a Tamar Bates jumper with 10:22 left gave Missouri the lead it would keep the rest of the first half at 13-12.

Shaw slammed down a dunk off an Anthony Robinson steal, then hit a right-wing 3 to put Missouri up 18-14.

Caleb Grill dished an alley-oop to Shaw before Robinson hit a free throw and dished an assist to Pierce for a fast break dunk to increase the lead to 23-16.

Robinson hit a step-back 3 from the left corner to extend the lead to 29-19 with 6:44 left, but was immediately called for a technical foul for taunting the Memphis bench.

Pierce hit a 3 to extend the lead to 36-22, Missouri’s largest of the night, with 5:04 left in the first half, then hit a layup off a Grill steal to make it 38-25.

Pierce ended with 10 points in the first half and 13 overall, a career high after beating his best mark of 12 that came against Illinois last year as a freshman.

Tyrese Hunter hit two free throws for Memphis to cut Missouri’s lead to 42-32 going into halftime.

Missouri extended back to a 13-point advantage early in the second half when Duke transfer Mark Mitchell turned a steal into an assist to Grill for a fast break dunk, but Memphis quickly cut it back to a 9-point game as Moussa Cisse slammed down a dunk and PJ Haggerty drove for a layup.

Cisse ended with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Haggerty had a game-high 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting (10-of-11 at the free-throw line), six rebounds and five assists..

Missouri got back to an 11-point lead with 14:22 left when Tamar Bates hit a pull-up 3, but a Haggerty response 3 cut the lead under 10 points for good.

Dain Dainja used a Haggerty assist for a layup to bring the game to 55-51, then Hunter hit a fast break layup to bring it to 55-53 before Hunter hit a 3 to give Memphis its first lead since the 10:23 mark of the first half.

Gates called a timeout, but the damage was done. Missouri would not retake the lead.

Haggerty extended the lead to five with a layup with 6:39 left, then he made it eight with a free throw at the 5:30 mark.

Hunter created a double-digit margin with a layup that gave Memphis a 76-65 advantage with 1:54 left to play and a PJ Carter 3 gave Memphis its biggest lead of the night at 79-67 with 1:18 left.

Robinson led Missouri with 16 points and seven assists to go with four rebounds, while Bates had 13 points, three assists and three boards.Shaw had 11 points on a perfect shooting night as he was 4-of-4 overall, 1-of-1 from 3 and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.

Missouri shot 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) overall, 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from 3 and 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) at the free-throw line.

After shooting 18-of-33 (55 percent) from the floor in the first half, Missouri hit just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) in the second.

Memphis won the rebounding battle 37-30, but Missouri held a 24-16 lead in points off turnovers and had 11 steals to Memphis’ eight.

“I liked what I saw from a standpoint of our connectivity, our team,” Gates said. “Memphis is a good team, they were able to get on some runs. We weren’t able to execute and we threw the ball away. Having four assists and 11 turnovers in that second half compared to those numbers in the first, that’s where the game got away.”

Missouri (0-1) will return to Mizzou Arena for its home opener against Howard at 7 p.m. Friday.

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