Oklahoma basketball: Takeaways from OU’s opening-round NIT win

If there was any concern of an Oklahoma basketball letdown after being left out of the NCAA Tournament, there was absolutely no indication of such in the Sooners convincing NIT opening-round over Missouri State.

The Sooners, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, broke up a relatively close game in the first half, outscoring Missouri State 22 to 7 in the first eight minutes of the second half to pull away for an 89-72 victory and advance to the second round.

Both teams put on an offensive display in the opening half, combining for 88 points and sizzling three-point shooting. Oklahoma’s Umoja Gibson and Missouri State Isiaih Mosely both scored 17 first-half points and the Sooners shot 56.3 percent from the field and 64 percent from three-point range, including three from long-range by Gibson.

The Sooners turned it up a notch in the second 20 minutes and gradually pulled away for the final margin.

In addition to Gibson’s team-high 28 points, Jordan Goldwire contributed 15 points for the Sooners. OU also got a big boost from its reserves, who added another 24 points, led by nine points by Ethan Chargois and eight from Marvin Johnson.

The Sooners will play No. 5-seeded St. Bonaventure (21-9), winners over No. 4 Colorado 76-68. That game will be played on Sunday in Norman at a time to be determined later.

Here are three takeaways that tell the story of Oklahoma’s opening NIT win:

Sooners highly efficient on offense with limited turnovers

Oklahoma shot 50 percent for the game (33 of 66) and committed just nine turnovers. The Sooners avoided extended scoring lapses, something that plagued during the regular season, not going more than two or three possessions the entire game against Missouri State without scoring. The Sooners shot 48 percent from behind the three-point line (12 of 25), their third highest three-point percentage of the season. When OU shoots 50 percent of better from the field it is 14-1 this season.

The Sooners outrebounded Missouri State, which was making its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, 38 to 35, including 10 on the offensive glass that led to 14 Oklahoma points.

Gibson’s hot hand continues to spark Oklahoma on both ends of court

Mo Gibson was all over the floor on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center, contributing at both ends of the floor. Gibson was on target in five of 10 three-point attempts. His 28 points was his third highest scoring output of the season and the second time in the last four games that the Sooner senior guard has scored at least 28 points. Gibson entered the game with Missouri State averaging 12.4 points a game, but over his last four games the Waco, Texas, native is averaging 21.7 a game.

Gibson made all seven of his free-throw attempts in Tuesday night’s win and also grabbed three rebounds and stole the ball three times on defense.

Oklahoma stakes its claim as the NIT’s No. 1 overall seed

It would be inaccurate to say that the Sooner players and coaching staff weren’t disappointed over being left out of the NCAA Tournament. “We regrouped on Monday and just talked about it,” head coach Porter Moser said in a press conference on Monday.

"“We talked about the life lesson of how you react when it doesn’t go your way.“If we go down and don’t play hard and lay an egg, it’s just giving confirmation to the (NCAA selection) committee that they made the right decision,” he said. “I say let’s prove them wrong.”"

The Sooners were awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the postseason NIT tournament. That means they’ll be playing at home at Lloyd Noble center through the quarterfinals, or the next two rounds, as long as they keep winning. The semifinals and championship will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Oklahoma began that journey Tuesday night by beating Missouri State.

“We’re still playing for something,” said Sooner guard and Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire. “It’s not what we intended. It wasn’t our goal for the year. But at least like coach (Moser) said, “we still get an opportunity to play and lace ’em up.”

That’s telling it like it is…