Umoja Gibson led the way with 28 points as the Sooners’ free-flowing offense prevailed.

After being snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, the Oklahoma Sooners entered the the NIT with something to prove. Porter Moser’s team did just that, defeating Missouri State, 89-72, behind offensive effort that would seem to indicate that things are much easier outside of Big 12 play.

The Sooners will take on St. Bonaventure this weekend. While the top-seeded team is usually guaranteed home games for the first three rounds, scheduling conflicts with the women’s team’s NCAA run could mean that the Sooners will have to hit the road (although that is yet to be determined). OU originally announced a Sunday home game but has since deleted the tweet.

Umoja Gibson led the way for OU with 28 points on 8-17 shooting and 5-10 from downtown. Jordan Goldwire added 15 on 7-11 shooting while also adding eight assists. As a team, the Sooners shot 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from three while out-rebounding the Grizzlies, 38-35. Most promising of all was the fact that OU only turned it over nine times — quite a departure from much of the 2021-22 season.

If OU operates this smoothly on offense or even anywhere close to it, Moser’s guys will have a real shot of making it to Madison Square Garden (which is hosting the final four of the NIT for the final time).