Marcus Denmon scored 25 points, Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 Missouri claimed first place in the Big 12 by edging Oklahoma 71-68 last night.

Oklahoma (13-10, 3-8) had the ball with a chance to tie with five seconds left. Romero Osby was fouled with 2.5 seconds left and missed both free throws, and Steven Pledger missed a three-pointer at the buzzer when the offensive rebound was tapped back to him.

The Tigers (22-2, 9-2) moved a half-game ahead of No. 6 Baylor and No. 7 Kansas in the standings. Those teams meet on Wednesday night.

Pledger led Oklahoma with 22 points and Sam Grooms had a career-high 17 points and 10 assists.

The Tigers barely survived the challenge of refocusing for a road game less than 48 hours after an emotionally charged win in their rivalry game against Kansas. Coach Frank Haith even put them in a team hotel and enforced a curfew after the Border Showdown win to try to keep them in a controlled environment.

Men’s highlight

No. 24 Louisville 80, Connecticut 59 — Gorgui Dieng returned from a sprained right ankle to score 15 points, and freshman Chane Behanan added 12 rebounds to help Louisville (19-5, 7-4) rout Connecticut (15-8, 5-6) in a Big East game.

Dieng was questionable after Saturday’s injury in a win over Rutgers, but he clogged up the lane and held Connecticut freshman Andre Drummond scoreless.

Freshman Ryan Boatright led the Huskies with 18 points. Jeremy Lamb finished with seven points, well short of his average of 17.6.

Women’s highlights

No. 5 Duke 96, No. 22 North Carolina 56 — Tricia Liston scored 16 of her 23 points during a decisive first-half run, and Duke (19-3, 10-0) shot 54 percent in routing North Carolina (17-6, 7-3) in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No. 8 Maryland 64,

No. 22 Georgia Tech 56 — Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins each scored 23 points to lead Maryland (20-3, 7-3) over Georgia Tech (17-7, 7-4) in the ACC.

Cremins not ready to coach yet

Bobby Cremins knew he had nothing left to give his College of Charleston players when he walked away from the game last month.

Cremins said yesterday that he was physically exhausted and advised by his doctor to make drastic changes or risk jeopardizing his long-term health. That’s when the popular coach, famous for his blinding white hair, knew he’d have to make one of the most difficult decisions of his career.

“I had nothing. I had no gas. The tank was empty,” Cremins said. “The kids knew. They could feel it.”

So Cremins went on an indefinite medical leave of absence — one that the 64-year-old coach didn’t seem ready to end anytime soon.

“My energy level is still not where it needs to be, but I’m definitely feeling a lot better,” he said.

The coach said he has had several tests done and nothing life-threatening was uncovered.

Cremins is in his sixth season with the Cougars, a favorite to win the Southern Conference and earn the coach another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Things looked promising early as the Cougars posted nonconference wins over Clemson and Tennessee before league play started. But the team lost six of eight games before Cremins’ stunning move. The Cougars (14-10, 6-7) have gone 2-2 since his departure.