On Monday, the Missouri Tigers learned they were ranked #2 in the nation after topping Baylor on the road, 89-88, and improving to 18-1.Wednesday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma was another road game, but not a good one for for Missouri as they dropped a 79-72 decision to the motivated Cowboys of Oklahoma State.
Ricardo Ratliffe scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds for Missouri, but it was no match for freshman forward Le'Bryon Nash's career high 27 point outburst.
Nash and his Cowboy teammates survived 16 turnovers by shooting a sizzling 60% (31-52) from the field and nailing 12 of 14 free throws, 10 of those by fellow frosh, Brian Williams, who finished with 22. Nash was 12 of 18 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. He also contributed four rebounds and four assists.
The 10-10 Cowboys were unlikely upsetters, having lost their last three straight, to Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State. Missouri's loss dropped them into a tie for second place in the Big 12 at 5-2 with Baylor. Everybody in the conference is chasing #5 Kansas, which is 7-0 in the conference and 17-3 overall.
NOTABLE: Mason Plumlee had 23 points and 12 boards as the #8 Duke Blue Devils stomped Maryland, 74-61, in College Park, MD.
IN SEC play, Arnett Moultrie's 28 points and 12 rebounds led #18 Mississippi State to a 76-71 home win over LSU. The Bulldogs are 17-5 on the season.
#12 UNLV needed overtime to slip past Boise State, 77-72, as Mike Moser scored 18 points and dominated the boards, hauling down 21 rebounds. The Runnin' Rebels improved to 19-3 and are second in the Mountain West conference at 3-1, behind 4-0 San Diego State. The Aztecs, ranked 13 nationally, topped the Rebels, 69-67, on January 14.
Michigan State's Tom Izzo recorded his 400th career win as the Spartans' head coach with a 68-52 pasting of Minnesota. Izzo's 10th-ranked Spartans are 17-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, tied for first place with #4 Ohio State and #20 Michigan.
The national scoring race heated up a bit as the nation's 4th-leading scorer, Doug McDermott led #15 Creighton to a 77-69 win over Drake with a 30-point outburst. McDermott is averaging 23.5 points per game. Albany's Gerardo Suero, 5th, at 21.5 ppg, popped for 25 in Albany's 74-68 win over Binghamton.
The top two scorers in the country, Weber State's Damian Lillard (25.1 ppg) and Grambling State's Quincy Roberts (24.0) were not in action on Wednesday. Grambling State is just 2-15, and Roberts has played in just 10 games this season.
