For an uncontrollable situation with 2.5 seconds left on the clock, Oklahoma's last chance to forge overtime against No. 4 Missouri went about as well as it could – until Steven Pledger's 3-point shot refused to go down. Pledger slumped to the ground and put his hands over his face after his potential tying shot clanged off the rim to end the Sooners' 71-68 loss. Romero Osby was forced to miss a free throw with 2.5 seconds left to set up one last unlikely shot for Oklahoma, and Pledger got the ball when the offensive rebound was tapped back to him on the right wing. “It was perfect. The play was designed to miss the free throw and get the tip-out and we actually got the tip-out,” said Pledger, who led the Sooners with 22 points. Marcus Denmon scored 25 points and Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri, which claimed first place in the Big 12 with the victory. The Tigers (22-2, 9-2 Big 12) had moved into a tie for first with No. 6 Baylor and No. 7 Kansas by beating the archrival Jayhawks Saturday. No. 18 Marquette 89, DePaul 76: Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points and Jamil Wilson added 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Marquette to an 89-76 victory over the Blue Demons. Cleveland Melvin scored 22 points and Jamee Crockett added 17 for DePaul (11-12, 2-9). No. 24 Louisville 80, Connecticut 59: Jeremy Lamb finished with seven points as his shooting woes continued and Connecticut fell behind big in an 80-59 loss to No. 24 Louisville. Lamb is 10 of 37 in his last three games and he was nowhere near his 17.6-point average against the surging Cardinals. Freshman Ryan Boatright led the Huskies (15-8, 5-6 Big East) with 18 points.
