2008 Big 12 men's basketball tournament explained

Year:2008
Conference:Big 12
Division:I
Gender:Men's
Teams:12
Arena:Sprint Center
City:Kansas City, Missouri
Champions:Kansas
Titlecount:6th
Coach:Bill Self
Coachcount:3rd
Mvp:Brandon Rush
Mvpteam:Kansas
Attendance:113,254 (overall)
19,047 (championship)
Topscorer:D. J. Augustin
Topscorerteam:Texas
Points:62
Television:ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, ESPNU

The 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 men's basketball tournament was the 2008 edition of the Big 12 Conference's championship tournament held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City from March 13 until March 16, 2008. It was the 12th Big 12 tournament in the series. Texas and Kansas shared the regular season title, with Texas receiving the top seed in the tournament due to its win over Kansas earlier in the season. The top four seeds, including the two regular season champs, Oklahoma, and Kansas State automatically advanced to the quarterfinal round.

The first round featured several close games, with a combined 29-point margin of victory for the four matchups. Oklahoma State upset Texas Tech in a game that flip-flopped throughout, and the 12-seed Colorado Buffaloes defeated the 5-seed Baylor Bears in double overtime. This was both the first double-overtime game in tournament history and the first 12-seed win in tournament history. Texas A&M and Nebraska both won their games against Iowa State and Missouri, respectively.

Regular season and tournament seeding

To kick off the beginning of the 2007–2008 Big 12 men's basketball season a poll of the head coaches of the Big 12 men's basketball programs found that Kansas was the preseason favorite to win the conference for a second consecutive year and receiving 10 of 12 first place votes. In second place was Texas, the 2006–2007 season's runner-up for both the regular season title and tournament title. Texas A&M was dubbed for third place and received the remaining 2 first place votes.[1] Aggies head coach Billy Gillespie left at the end of the previous season to take up the head coaching position at Kentucky.[2] Another important coaching change came when Bob Huggins left Kansas State after one season to return to his alma mater, West Virginia.[3] Nonetheless, KSU was selected for fourth place in the poll, the school's highest ever selection in the conference pre-season poll.[1] Missouri and Oklahoma tied for fifth place while Oklahoma State and Texas Tech came in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Baylor, Nebraska, Iowa State, and Colorado took the final four spots, respectively.[4] With identical conference records of 13–3, the Texas Longhorns and the Kansas Jayhawks share the 2008 regular season title. Because Texas won the head-to-head game with Kansas, they claim the No. 1 seed for the tournament.[4]

Standings
ConferenceTotalPost-Tournament Play
SeedSchoolWLWLNCAA/NITResult
1Texasalign=center 13align=center 3align=center 28align=center 6align=center NCAAalign=center Elite 8
2Kansas
  • †
align=center 13align=center 3align=center 31align=center 3align=center NCAAalign=center National Champions
3Kansas Statealign=center 10align=center 6align=center 20align=center 11align=center NCAAalign=center 2nd Round
4Oklahomaalign=center 9align=center 7align=center 22align=center 11align=center NCAAalign=center 2nd Round
5Bayloralign=center 9align=center 7align=center 21align=center 10align=center NCAAalign=center 1st Round
6Texas A&Malign=center 8align=center 8align=center 24align=center 10align=center NCAAalign=center 2nd Round
7Nebraskaalign=center 7align=center 9align=center 19align=center 12align=center NITalign=center 2nd Round
8Texas Techalign=center 7align=center 9align=center 16align=center 15align=center See note1align=center
9Oklahoma Statealign=center 7align=center 9align=center 17align=center 15align=center NITalign=center 1st Round
10Missourialign=center 6align=center 10align=center 16align=center 16align=center See note1align=center
11Iowa Statealign=center 4align=center 12align=center 14align=center 18align=center align=center
12Coloradoalign=center 3align=center 13align=center 12align=center 20align=center align=center
† – Denotes Tournament Champion. * – Denotes Regular Season Champion1 – Texas Tech and Missouri were invited to the 2008 College Basketball Invitational but declined the offer.[5]

Source:

Schedule

SessionGameTimeMatchupTelevisionAttendance
First Round – Thursday, March 13
1111:30 am
  1. 9 Oklahoma State 76 vs #8 Texas Tech 72
ESPN218,758
22:00 pm
  1. 12 Colorado 91 vs #5 Baylor 84 2OT
ESPNU
236:00 pm
  1. 7 Nebraska 61 vs #10 Missouri 56
ESPN Plus18,758
511:30 am
  1. 1 Texas 66 vs #9 Oklahoma State 59
ESPNU
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 14
3511:30 am
  1. 1 Texas 66 vs #9 Oklahoma State 59
ESPNU18,897
62:00 pm
  1. 4 Oklahoma 54 vs #12 Colorado 49
476:00 pm
  1. 2 Kansas 64 vs #7 Nebraska 54
ESPN Plus18,897
88:30 pm
  1. 6 Texas A&M 63 vs #3 Kansas State 60
Semifinals – Saturday, March 15
591:00 pm
  1. 1 Texas 77 vs #4 Oklahoma 49
ESPN218,897
103:20 pm
  1. 2 Kansas 77 vs #6 Texas A&M 71
Final – Sunday, March 16
6112:00 pm
  1. 2 Kansas 84 vs #1 Texas 74
ESPN19,047
Game times in CT. #-Rankings denote tournament seed[6] [7]

Bracket

Source:[8]

Game summaries

First round

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
OSUalign=center 36align=center 40align=center 76
TTalign=center 32align=center 40align=center 72

James Anderson led the Cowboys with 18 points and eight rebounds, including a crucial 12-foot jump shot with 45 seconds left to increase his team's lead to 73–70. The game was close throughout, with each team holding the lead for a good share of the game. Texas Tech's Alan Voskuil led his team in scoring with 19 points, but as Red Raider's coach Pat Knight said, "We missed eight lay-ups in the second half, missed four out of five free throws. We made a lot of dumb mistakes. It comes from being casual... It was a hard-fought game offensively and defensively. We just made too many dumb mistakes."[9] Texas Tech had recently suffered a 109–51 loss to Kansas, which set a school record for largest loss deficit. Knight, however, said, "This is probably the most disappointed I've been because this was a game we were in." The Red Raiders briefly took the lead in the second half, but a Byron Eaton three put the Cowboys back in the lead.[9]

Baylor vs. Colorado

Teams1st Half2nd HalfOT2OTFinal
BUalign=center 31align=center 34align=center 9align=center 10align=center 84
CUalign=center 44align=center 21align=center 9align=center 17align=center 91
After gaining the lead early, Colorado managed to hold off a 2nd-half Baylor rally, taking the game into overtime twice. With the win, the Buffaloes became the first 12-seed to win a game in the tournament's eleven-year history. The game was also the first double-overtime game in tournament history. Colorado had a 15-point lead in the second half, only to see Baylor go on a 14–1 run to get back in it. With several botched possessions and failed chances to win on both sides, the game went into overtime twice. Baylor came within two during the second OT, but Kevin Rogers missed two free throws and Colorado quickly scored. A few late free throws added to the lead and gave CU the win. Baylor (21–10) had just completed one of the best seasons in the school's history, with hopes to gain an invite to the national tournament, but the loss to Colorado placed these hopes in doubt. Colorado shot 72% from the field in the first half, setting another tournament record for field goal percentage in a half.[10] [11]

Nebraska vs. Missouri

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
NUalign=center 30align=center 31align=center 61
MUalign=center 28align=center 28align=center 56
Aleks Maric led Nebraska with 17 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Missouri. Missouri came to within one point with under two minutes left, but series of Nebraska free throws, along with a blocked shot by Maric in the final minute, took Nebraska to the next round. Missouri (16–16) suffered this season after a Columbia fight left one of its star players with a broken jaw. They were ahead near the end of the first half, but the Cornhuskers went on a 10–3 run late and scored at the buzzer to carry the halftime lead, 28–30.[12]

Texas A&M vs. Iowa State

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
A&Malign=center 25align=center 35align=center 60
ISUalign=center 17align=center 30align=center 47
In a physical game dominated by defensive play, Texas A&M scored their second-ever Big 12 tournament win in history. The Cyclones were held to 27% shooting from the field throughout, and their high-scorer Craig Brackins' 20 points and 12 rebounds were not enough to carry the team. The Aggies made 43% of their field goals, and were led by Donald Sloan, whose mother had died earlier that day, and Dominique Kirk with 12 points each. A&M was sitting on the bubble this year, needing some tournament wins to secure a spot in the NCAA championship tournament.[13] With a combined 42 points in the first half, this game had the lowest scoring half in tournament history since 2003. Also, the combined margin of victory for all the tournament's first-round game was 29, the second lowest in history. The only Big 12 tournament with a lower combined margin of victory in the first round was 2006 with 28 points.[14]

Quarterfinals

Oklahoma State vs. Texas

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
OSUalign=center 33align=center 26align=center 59
UTalign=center 32align=center 34align=center 66
A late three put the Cowboys ahead at the half, but D. J. Augustin led the Longhorns on a 14–0 run to start the second half, putting OSU far behind. Damion James held the lead in stats for Texas with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Cowboys, with Ibrahima Thomas' 19 points, had rallied from 7 points behind to gain the lead at halftime, but went the first eight minutes of the second half without a field goal. A late rally pulled them to within three, but Texas managed to hold them off and win by seven.[15]

Colorado vs. Oklahoma

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
CUalign=center 21align=center 28align=center 49
OUalign=center 26align=center 28align=center 54
After going scoreless for the first five minutes, Colorado fought back, holding star Sooner forward Blake Griffin to four points and keeping the game close. Other Sooners, such as Tony Crocker, Longar Longar, and Taylor Griffin, managed to make up the difference, scoring a combined 33 points in what was a largely defensive game. Both teams made only about a third of their shots from the field. Colorado's Richard Roby lead both teams in scoring with 18 points, and in rebounds with 10, and he broke a school point record with 2,001 total for his career. However, this along with Colorado's slow play, waiting the shot clock out for each possession, was not enough to keep the Sooners from advancing to meet Texas in the semifinals.[16]

Kansas vs. Nebraska

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
KUalign=center 22align=center 42align=center 64
NUalign=center 27align=center 27align=center 54

Kansas State vs. Texas A&M

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
KSUalign=center 33align=center 27align=center 60
TAMUalign=center 38align=center 25align=center 63
Dominique Kirk hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points, and Josh Carter hit two free throws with 7 seconds left to help Texas A&M hold off third-seeded Kansas State 63–60.

Texas A&M (24–9) shot 50 percent—a huge improvement from its first-round game against Iowa State—and didn’t let anyone besides Michael Beasley do much of anything, winning its second straight conference tournament game after going 1–11 the previous 11 years.

Beasley had 25 points and nine rebounds, but Bill Walker (10 points) was the only other double-figures scorer for Kansas State (20–11), which still got into the NCAA tournament despite the loss.

Semifinals

Texas vs. Oklahoma

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
UTalign=center 36align=center 41align=center 77
OUalign=center 29align=center 20align=center 49

Kansas vs. Texas A&M

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
KUalign=center 34align=center 43align=center 77
TAMUalign=center 34align=center 37align=center 71

Championship

Kansas vs. Texas

Teams1st Half2nd HalfFinal
KUalign=center 45align=center 39align=center 84
Texasalign=center 46align=center 28align=center 74

All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player – Brandon Rush, Kansas[6]

PlayerTeamPositionClass
Brandon RushKansasJr.G
Mario ChalmersKansasJr.G
A. J. AbramsTexasJr.G
D. J. AugustinTexasSo.G
Damion JamesTexasSo.F

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://archive.today/20070729134724/http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/101107aaa.html Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Announced
  2. http://www.kbtx.com/news/headlines/6903077.html Gillespie Fills Coaching Vacancy at Kentucky
  3. http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/04/05/bob-huggins-leaves-kansas-state-for-west-virginia/ Bob Huggins Leaves Kansas State for West Virginia
  4. Texas, Kansas Share Regular Season Men's Basketball Title. Big 12 Sports. 2008-03-10. 2008-03-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190904/http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030908aab.html. 2008-05-11. dead.
  5. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695262325,00.html Deseret Morning News | Utah Utes basketball: Team to face UTEP in CBI
  6. Web site: 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book. 83–86. Big 12 Conference. PDF. June 19, 2020.
  7. Web site: 2008 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Box Score. Big 12 Conference. PDF. June 18, 2020.
  8. Web site: Tournament bracket . 2008-03-10 . 2011-05-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110522211935/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big12/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/08_BRACKET.pdf . dead .
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20080315192316/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280732641 ESPN – Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech – Recap – March 13, 2008
  10. https://archive.today/20130118000257/http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2007-2008/big12-02.html Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
  11. https://archive.today/20120720043944/http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/bu-cu--champ-notes-08.html Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20110519100836/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280730158 ESPN – Missouri vs. Nebraska – Recap – March 13, 2008
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20110519100840/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280730245 ESPN – Iowa State vs. Texas A&M – Recap – March 13, 2008
  14. https://archive.today/20120724014456/http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/tam-isu-champ08-game4-notes.html Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
  15. https://web.archive.org/web/20080317154732/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280740251 ESPN – Oklahoma State vs. Texas – Recap – March 14, 2008
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20080321211312/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280740201 ESPN – Colorado vs. Oklahoma – Recap – March 14, 2008

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