NORMAN — Steven Pledger sank to the floor with his face in his hands as the buzzer sounded. He couldn’t believe the 3-pointer he took with about 1 second remaining didn’t go through the net.
It wasn’t the only thing running through his mind after OU’s 71-68 loss to No. 4 Missouri on Monday at Lloyd Noble Center.
“I felt like I let my team down,” he said. “There were the missed free throws and I missed a couple shots I’m supposed to knock down. It was things like that.”
Pledger shouldn’t have been the only one feeling that way Monday night. The Sooners had a golden opportunity for a signature win and self-inflicted wounds did them in.
The Sooners’ 9-for-23 effort from the free-throw line did more damage than King Kong when he broke free from the chains.
Pledger, who entered the night shooting 96.4 percent from the foul line in conference games, was 1-for-4. Sam Grooms, a 67 percent free-throw shooter, was 3-for-7. Romero Osby, a 74.7 percent free-throw shooter, was 3-for-8.
Ironically, it was his intentional miss with 2.5 seconds left that set up Pledger’s final attempt to tie the game.
Add those missed free throws in with 16 turnovers and allowing the Tigers to shoot 56.3 percent and it wasn’t hard to figure out why the Sooners left the Lloyd Noble Center looking for something to kick.
“It is hard to explain because we have shot free throws very well. Certainly Pledge is one of the top shooters in the country,” OU coach Lon Kruger said. “When you play the game long enough, it will happen, unfortunately. It happened kind of with everyone it seemed. As a team we have shot it well all year. It’s a hard thing to explain missing those early ones. It got a little contagious, perhaps. Again, it was just bad timing for that.”
It was great timing for the Tigers (22-2, 9-2 Big 12). They arrived in Norman less than 48 hours after an emotional victory over Kansas. That game was one of the biggest of the season and the emotional letdown was obvious.
Marcus Denmon scored 25 points and Ricardo Ratliffe scored 15, but Missouri was lethargic from the outset.
“There’s no question you have to fight against all of that,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said.
The Sooners led by as many as six late in the first half, but those missed free throws averted any chance of building a sizable lead. The Sooners were 0-for-7 in the first half.
There were only 5,036 in attendance Monday, but they expressed their frustration at the free-throw line with a Bronx cheer when Osby finally sank the Sooners’ first free throw with 15:09 left in the game.
The one he sank reduced the Tigers’ lead to eight points. The only reason the Sooners didn’t get run out of the gym was Grooms, who scored a career-high 17, and Pledger. Grooms scored eight of his points in the opening minutes. Pledger scored eight of his 22 points in a 90-second span that helped OU slice a 10-point deficit to five with 13 minutes left.
It was a hump OU couldn’t get over. The only time it had the ball and the chance to tie the game was after Missouri’s Michael Dixon missed a layup with 7 seconds left.
Missouri followed Osby with 2.5 seconds to keep the Sooners from having a 3-pointer to tie it. After he missed the second free throw, Andrew Fitzgerald, who scored 12 points and was 2-for-2 from the foul line, tipped it to Pledger.
The loss was OU’s third straight and dropped it to 13-10 overall and 3-8 in the Big 12 Conference. It was also the Sooners’ third conference loss by seven points or less.
“It’s not hard at all to understand the fact that in basketball you have tomorrow, but by the same token, you want to win at this point in time, right now,” Grooms said. “We just have certain plays and certain mishaps on the court that don’t allow us to do that right now. Like Coach said, when we’re ready to do it, we’ll do it. It’s up to us at the end of the day.”
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
