# 2008–09 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team finished 31–7 and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Led by head coach Mike Anderson, Mizzou finished third in the Big 12 with a conference record of 12–4 and also won the Big 12 men's basketball tournament for the first time in school history.

## Pre-Season

Following a .500 season in 2007–08 season, the Tigers revamped their offense with five freshmen and two transfers. The Tigers basketball team was not heralded with much in the way of high hopes coming into the 2008–09 season. Most preseason polls had Missouri finishing in the bottom-half of the Big 12 Conference, including Athlon Sports and the Big 12 coaches.
As a way to get in some much needed extra practice, coach Mike Anderson accepted an invitation to play three exhibition games in Canada in late August. In the first game of the tour, Missouri defeated the Niagara All-Stars by a score of 120–80 on August 30, 2008. The game was played at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. On August 31, 2008, in the same venue, the Tigers defeated Brock University 117–68. This game gave the Missouri coaching staff and fans a nice look at the fresh faces, as Mizzou's seven newcomers combined for 66 of the Tigers' 117 points on the afternoon. The next morning, the Tigers closed out the Canadian trip by beating the Southern Ontario All-Stars by a final score of 109–92.
The Tigers played two pre-season games in 2008. The first was against Lincoln (MO), winning the game 97–54. The second of their two pre-season games was against Missouri Southern, resulting in an 87–58 Tigers victory.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Summer Canadian Exhibition ||||||
| 2008/8/30* 4:30 pm | | Ontario All-Stars | W 120–80 | | Bob Davis Gymnasium St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 2008/8/31* 1:00 pm | | Brock University | W 117–68 | | Bob Davis Gymnasium St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 2008/9/1* 9:00 am | | Southern Ontario All-Stars | W 109–92 | | Notre Dame College School Welland, Ontario |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 2008/11/6* 7:00 pm | | Lincoln (MO) | W 97–54 | | Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO |
| 2008/11/11* 7:00 pm | | Missouri Southern | W 87–58 | | Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 2008/11/15* 3:30 pm | | Prairie View A&M | W 86–65 | 1–0 | Mizzou Arena (5,463) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/11/17* 7:00 pm | | Chattanooga | W 103–75 | 2–0 | Mizzou Arena (5,275) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/11/20* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Xavier | L 71–75 | 2–1 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico (3,217) San Juan, PR |
| 2008/11/21* 10:00 am | | vs. Fairfield | W 87–59 | 3–1 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, PR |
| 2008/11/23* 11:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 19 USC | W 83–72 | 4–1 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, PR |
| 2008/11/30* 3:00 pm | | Oral Roberts | W 92–83 | 5–1 | Mizzou Arena (5,229) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/2* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 95–41 | 6–1 | Mizzou Arena (5,502) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/7* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | California | W 93–66 | 7–1 | Mizzou Arena (8,310) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/13* 6:00 pm | | Murray State | W 75–64 | 8–1 | Mizzou Arena (8,517) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/20* 6:00 pm | | Stetson | W 78–44 | 9–1 | Mizzou Arena (7,409) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/23* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | vs. Illinois Braggin' Rights | L 59–75 | 9–2 | Scottrade Center (19,586) St. Louis, MO |
| 2008/12/27* 3:00 pm | | SIU Edwardsville | W 107–57 | 10–2 | Mizzou Arena (6,793) Columbia, MO |
| 2008/12/27* 3:00 pm | | Centenary | W 80–52 | 11–2 | Mizzou Arena (6,755) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/1/3* 12:00 pm | | at Georgia | W 83–76 | 12–2 | Stegeman Coliseum (8,060) Athens, GA |
| 2009/1/6* 8:00 pm | | Coppin State | W 88–55 | 13–2 | Mizzou Arena (7,244) Columbia, MO |
| Big 12 Regular Season ||||||
| 2009/1/10 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Nebraska | L 51-56 | 13–3 (0–1) | Bob Devaney Sports Center (11,570) Lincoln, NE |
| 2009/1/14 8:00 pm | | Colorado | W 107–62 | 14–3 (1–1) | Mizzou Arena (9,171) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/1/17 12:30 pm | | Iowa State | W 77–46 | 15–3 (2–1) | Mizzou Arena (12,403) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/1/21 8:00 pm | | at Oklahoma State | W 97–95 | 16–3 (3–1) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (10,810) Stillwater, OK |
| 2009/1/24 12:30 pm | | Texas Tech | W 97–86 | 17–3 (4–1) | Mizzou Arena (13,357) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/1/28 8:00 pm, FSN | | at Kansas State | L 72–88 | 17–4 (4–2) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,665) Manhattan, KS |
| 2009/1/31 5:00 pm | | Baylor | W 89–72 | 18–4 (5–2) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/2/4 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 16 Texas | W 69–65 | 19–4 (6–2) | Frank Erwin Center (13,095) Austin, TX |
| 2009/2/7 5:00 pm | | at Iowa State | W 82–68 | 20–4 (7–2) | Hilton Coliseum (11,919) Ames, IA |
| 2009/2/9 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | No. 16 Kansas Border War | W 62–60 | 21–4 (8–2) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/2/14 12:30 pm | No. 17 | Nebraska | W 70–47 | 22–4 (9–2) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/2/21 12:30 pm | No. 11 | at Colorado | W 66–53 | 23–4 (10–2) | Coors Events Center (6,271) Boulder, CO |
| 2009/2/25 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | Kansas State | W 94–74 | 24–4 (11–2) | Mizzou Arena (14,825) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/3/1 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | at No. 15 Kansas Border War | L 65–90 | 24–5 (11–3) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 2009/3/4 8:00 pm, Big 12 Network | No. 15 | No. 4 Oklahoma | W 73–64 | 25–5 (12–3) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| 2009/3/7 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 15 | at Texas A&M | L 86–96 | 25–6 (12–4) | Reed Arena (13,007) College Station, TX |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| 2009/03/11 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | vs. Texas Tech Quarterfinals | W 81–60 | 26–6 (12–4) | Ford Center (16,786) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 2009/03/12 8:30 pm | No. 14 | vs. Oklahoma State Semifinals | W 67–59 | 27–6 (12–4) | Ford Center (15,009) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 2009/03/13 5:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | vs. Baylor Championship | W 73–60 | 28–6 (12–4) | Ford Center (15,321) Oklahoma City, OK |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 2009/03/20* 2:10 pm, CBS | No. 9 (3) | vs. (14) Cornell First Round | W 78–59 | 29–6 | Taco Bell Arena (11,997) Boise, Idaho |
| 2009/03/22* 3:50 pm, CBS | No. 9 (3) | vs. No. 23 (6) Marquette Second Round | W 83–79 | 30–6 | Taco Bell Arena (12,184) Boise, Idaho |
| 2009/03/27* 8:37 pm, CBS | No. 9 (3) | vs. No. 3 (2) Memphis Sweet Sixteen | W 102–91 | 31–6 | University of Phoenix Stadium (20,201) Glendale, AZ |
| 2009/03/29 3:40 pm, CBS | No. 9 (3) | vs. No. 5 (1) Connecticut Elite Eight | L 75–82 | 31–7 | University of Phoenix Stadium (18,886) Glendale, AZ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. ||||||

## Roster

| Name | # | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Home Town |
| DeMarre Carroll | 1 | Forward | 6–8 | 225 | SR | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Miguel Paul | 3 | Guard | 6–1 | 172 | FR | Lakeland, Florida |
| J. T. Tiller | 4 | Guard | 6–3 | 200 | JR | Marietta, Georgia |
| Leo Lyons | 5 | Forward | 6–9 | 244 | SR | Kansas City, Kansas |
| Zaire Taylor | 11 | Guard | 6–4 | 189 | RS JR | Staten Island, N.Y. |
| Marcus Denmon | 12 | Guard | 6–3 | 185 | FR | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Michael Anderson Jr. | 13 | Guard | 6–0 | 183 | RS SR | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Keith Ramsey | 15 | Forward | 6–9 | 210 | JR | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Laurence Bowers | 21 | Forward | 6–8 | 205 | FR | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Justin Safford | 23 | Forward | 6–8 | 230 | SO | Bloomington, Illinois |
| Kim English | 24 | Guard | 6–6 | 200 | FR | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jarrett Sutton | 25 | Guard | 6–3 | 190 | SO | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Steve Moore | 32 | Center | 6–9 | 264 | FR | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Matt Lawrence | 33 | Guard | 6–7 | 203 | SR | Wildwood, Missouri |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | | | | | | 25 | — | | | | | | 17 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 9 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 8 |