2008 Big 12 men's basketball tournament

For the women's basketball tournament, see 2008 Big 12 Conference women's basketball tournament.

2008 Big 12 men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2007–08
Teams	12
Site	Sprint Center Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Kansas (6th title)
Winning coach	Bill Self (3rd title)
MVP	Brandon Rush (Kansas)
Attendance	113,254 (overall) 19,047 (championship)
Top scorer	D. J. Augustin (Texas) (62 points)
Television	ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, ESPNU
Big 12 men's basketball tournaments ←  2007 2009  →

2007–08 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Texas	13	–	3		.813			31	–	7		.816
No. 4 Kansas †	13	–	3		.813			37	–	3		.925
Kansas State	10	–	6		.625			21	–	12		.636
Oklahoma	9	–	7		.563			23	–	12		.657
Baylor	9	–	7		.563			21	–	11		.656
Texas A&M	8	–	8		.500			25	–	11		.694
Nebraska	7	–	9		.438			20	–	13		.606
Texas Tech	7	–	9		.438			16	–	15		.516
Oklahoma State	7	–	9		.438			17	–	16		.515
Missouri	6	–	10		.375			16	–	16		.500
Iowa State	4	–	12		.250			14	–	18		.438
Colorado	3	–	13		.188			12	–	20		.375
† 2008 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll [1]

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. ^[2] Aggies head coach Billy Gillespie left at the end of the previous season to take up the head coaching position at Kentucky. ^[3] Another important coaching change came when Bob Huggins left Kansas State after one season to return to his alma mater, West Virginia. ^[4] Nonetheless, KSU was selected for fourth place in the poll, the school's highest ever selection in the conference pre-season poll. ^[2] 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. ^[5] 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. ^[5]

Standings
		Conference		Total		Post-Tournament Play
Seed	School	W	L	W	L	NCAA/NIT	Result
1	Texas*	13	3	28	6	NCAA	Elite 8
2	Kansas*†	13	3	31	3	NCAA	National Champions
3	Kansas State	10	6	20	11	NCAA	2nd Round
4	Oklahoma	9	7	22	11	NCAA	2nd Round
5	Baylor	9	7	21	10	NCAA	1st Round
6	Texas A&M	8	8	24	10	NCAA	2nd Round
7	Nebraska	7	9	19	12	NIT	2nd Round
8	Texas Tech	7	9	16	15	See note1
9	Oklahoma State	7	9	17	15	NIT	1st Round
10	Missouri	6	10	16	16	See note1
11	Iowa State	4	12	14	18
12	Colorado	3	13	12	20

† – Denotes Tournament Champion. * – Denotes Regular Season Champion ¹ – Texas Tech and Missouri were invited to the 2008 College Basketball Invitational but declined the offer. ^[6]

Source: ^[5]

Schedule

Session	Game	Time	Matchup	Television	Attendance
First Round – Thursday, March 13
1	1	11:30 am	#9 Oklahoma State 76 vs #8 Texas Tech 72	ESPN2	18,758
	2	2:00 pm	#12 Colorado 91 vs #5 Baylor 84 2OT	ESPNU
2	3	6:00 pm	#7 Nebraska 61 vs #10 Missouri 56	ESPN Plus	18,758
	5	11:30 am	#1 Texas 66 vs #9 Oklahoma State 59	ESPNU
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 14
3	5	11:30 am	#1 Texas 66 vs #9 Oklahoma State 59	ESPNU	18,897
	6	2:00 pm	#4 Oklahoma 54 vs #12 Colorado 49
4	7	6:00 pm	#2 Kansas 64 vs #7 Nebraska 54	ESPN Plus	18,897
	8	8:30 pm	#6 Texas A&M 63 vs #3 Kansas State 60
Semifinals – Saturday, March 15
5	9	1:00 pm	#1 Texas 77 vs #4 Oklahoma 49	ESPN2	18,897
	10	3:20 pm	#2 Kansas 77 vs #6 Texas A&M 71
Final – Sunday, March 16
6	11	2:00 pm	#2 Kansas 84 vs #1 Texas 74	ESPN	19,047
Game times in CT. #-Rankings denote tournament seed [7] [8]

Bracket

	First Round (March 13)					Quarterfinals (March 14)					Semifinals (March 15)					Championship (March 16)
						1	#6 Texas	66
						9	Oklahoma State	59
	8	Texas Tech	72
	9	Oklahoma State	76
											1	#6 Texas	77
											4	Oklahoma	49
						4	Oklahoma	54
						12	Colorado	49
	5	Baylor	842OT
	12	Colorado	91
																1	#6 Texas	74
																2	#5 Kansas	84
						2	#5 Kansas	64
						7	Nebraska	54
	7	Nebraska	61
	10	Missouri	56
											2	#5 Kansas	77
											6	Texas A&M	71
						3	Kansas State	60
						6	Texas A&M	63
	6	Texas A&M	60
	11	Iowa State	47

Source: ^[9]

Game summaries

First round

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
OSU	36	40	76
TT	32	40	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." ^[10] 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. ^[10]

Baylor vs. Colorado

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	OT	2OT	Final
BU	31	34	9	10	84
CU	44	21	9	17	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. ^{[11] [12]}

Nebraska vs. Missouri

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
NU	30	31	61
MU	28	28	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. ^[13]

Texas A&M vs. Iowa State

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
A&M	25	35	60
ISU	17	30	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. ^[14] 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. ^[15]

Quarterfinals

Oklahoma State vs. Texas

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
OSU	33	26	59
UT	32	34	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. ^[16]

Colorado vs. Oklahoma

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
CU	21	28	49
OU	26	28	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. ^[17]

Kansas vs. Nebraska

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
KU	22	42	64
NU	27	27	54

Kansas State vs. Texas A&M

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
KSU	33	27	60
TAMU	38	25	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

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
UT	36	41	77
OU	29	20	49

Kansas vs. Texas A&M

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
KU	34	43	77
TAMU	34	37	71

Championship

Kansas vs. Texas

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
KU	45	39	84
Texas	46	28	74

All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player – Brandon Rush, Kansas ^[7]

Player	Team	Position	Class
Brandon Rush	Kansas	Jr.	G
Mario Chalmers	Kansas	Jr.	G
A. J. Abrams	Texas	Jr.	G
D. J. Augustin	Texas	So.	G
Damion James	Texas	So.	F

See also

• 2008 Big 12 Conference women's basketball tournament
• 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References

1. "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
2. Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Announced
3. Gillespie Fills Coaching Vacancy at Kentucky Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine
4. Bob Huggins Leaves Kansas State for West Virginia
5. "Texas, Kansas Share Regular Season Men's Basketball Title" (Press release). Big 12 Sports. March 9, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
6. Deseret Morning News | Utah Utes basketball: Team to face UTEP in CBI Archived 2008-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
7. "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 83–86. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
8. "2008 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Box Score" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
9. "Tournament bracket" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
10. ESPN – Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech – Recap – March 13, 2008
11. Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
12. Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
13. ESPN – Missouri vs. Nebraska – Recap – March 13, 2008
14. ESPN – Iowa State vs. Texas A&M – Recap – March 13, 2008
15. Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site
16. ESPN – Oklahoma State vs. Texas – Recap – March 14, 2008
17. ESPN – Colorado vs. Oklahoma – Recap – March 14, 2008

External links

• Official 2008 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket