# 2008–09 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season

The 2008–09 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season marks the 13th season of Big 12 Conference basketball.

## Preseason
### Big 12 coaches poll

| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Oklahoma (3) | 109 |
| 2 | Texas (4) | 107 |
| 3 | Baylor (2) | 103 |
| 3 | Kansas (3) | 103 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 79 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 69 |
| 7 | Missouri | 51 |
| 8 | Kansas State | 50 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 49 |
| 10 | Texas Tech | 39 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 20 |
| 12 | Colorado | 13 |

### All-Big 12 players

* Curtis Jerrells, Baylor
* Sherron Collins, Kansas
* Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
* A. J. Abrams, Texas
* Damion James, Texas
Player of the Year
* Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Newcomer of the Year
* Mario Little, Kansas
Freshman of the Year
* Willie Warren, Oklahoma

## Regular season
### Rankings

| AP Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 |
| Baylor | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 23 | 21 | RV | RV | | | | | | | |
| Colorado | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Iowa State | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas | 24 | 24 | 22 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 21 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Kansas State | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | RV | | | |
| Missouri | | | | | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | 17 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 9 |
| Nebraska | | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Oklahoma State | | | RV | | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV |
| Texas | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 16 | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV |
| Texas A&M | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | RV | |
| Texas Tech | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### In-season honors
#### Players of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Big 12 offices name a player of the week each Monday.
| Date | Player(s) |
| Nov. 17 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Nov. 24 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Dec. 1 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Dec. 8 | Craig Brackins, Iowa State, F, So. A. J. Abrams, Texas, G, Sr. |
| Dec. 15 | Cory Higgins, Colorado, G, So. |
| Dec. 22 | James Anderson, Oklahoma State, G/F, So. |
| Dec. 29 | Craig Brackins, Iowa State, F, So. |
| Jan. 5 | Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, Jr. |
| Jan. 12 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Jan. 19 | Austin Johnson, Oklahoma, G, Sr. |
| Jan. 26 | Craig Brackins, Iowa State, F, So. |
| Feb. 2 | Denis Clemente, Kansas State, G, Jr. |
| Feb. 9 | DeMarre Carroll, Missouri, F, Sr. |
| Feb. 16 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Feb. 23 | Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, Jr. James Anderson, Oklahoma State, G, So. |
| Mar. 2 | Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, Jr. |
| Mar. 9 | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |

## Conference honors

| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So. |
| Coach of the Year | Bill Self, Kansas |
| Defensive Players of the Year | Cole Aldrich, Kansas, C, So. J.T. Tiller, Missouri, G, Jr. |
| Newcomer of the year | Denis Clemente, Kansas State, G, Jr. |
| Freshman of the Year | Willie Warren, Oklahoma, G, Fr.** |
| Sixth Man Awards | LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, G, So. Matt Lawrence, Missouri, G, Sr. |
| All-Big 12 First Team | Craig Brackins, Iowa State, F, So. Cole Aldrich, Kansas, C, So. Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, Jr.** DeMarre Carroll, Missouri, F, Sr. Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, So.** |
| All-Big 12 Second Team | Denis Clemente, Kansas State, G, Jr. Willie Warren, Oklahoma, G, Fr. James Anderson, Oklahoma State, G/F, So. A. J. Abrams, Texas, G, Sr. Damion James, Texas, G/F, Jr. |
| All-Big 12 Third Team | Curtis Jerrells, Baylor, G, Sr. Cory Higgins, Colorado, G, So. Leo Lyons, Missouri, F, Sr. Ade Dagunduro, Nebraska, G, Sr. Byron Eaton, Oklahoma State, G, Sr. Josh Carter, Texas A&M, G/F, Sr. |
| All-Big 12 Honorable Mention | LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor) Kevin Rogers (Baylor) Jacob Pullen (Kansas State) J. T. Tiller (Missouri) Austin Johnson (Oklahoma) Terrel Harris (Oklahoma State) John Roberson (Texas Tech) Alan Voskuil (Texas Tech) |
| Big 12 All-Defensive Team | Cole Aldrich, Kansas, C, So. J. T. Tiller, Missouri, G, Jr.** Ade Dagunduro, Nebraska, G, Sr. Terrel Harris, Oklahoma State, G, Sr. Justin Mason, Texas, G, Jr. Derrick Roland, Texas A&M, G, Jr. |
| Big 12 All-Rookie Team | Marcus Morris, Kansas, F, Fr. Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas, G, Fr.** Denis Clemente, Kansas State, G, Jr.** Zaire Taylor, Missouri, G, Jr. Willie Warren, Oklahoma, G, Fr.** |
** – Unanimous Selection

## National awards & honors
### Player of the year

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
* Oscar Robertson Trophy
* CBSSports.com Player of the Year
* Sporting News Player of the Year
* Sports Illustrated Player of the Year
* Fox Sports Player of the Year
* Adolph Rupp Trophy

### Coach of the year

Bill Self, Kansas
* AP Coach of the Year
* USBWA Henry Iba Award
* CBSSports.com Coach of the Year
* Sporting News Coach of the Year
* Fox Sports Coach of the Year
* CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year
Mike Anderson, Missouri
* NABC Co-Coach of the Year

### All-District teams
#### USBWA

USBWA All-District 6
* Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
* Craig Brackins, Iowa State
* Cole Aldrich, Kansas
* Sherron Collins, Kansas
* Denis Clemente, Kansas State
* DeMarre Carroll, Missouri
* Leo Lyons, Missouri
* Willie Warren, Oklahoma
* James Anderson, Oklahoma State
USBWA All-District 7
* Curtis Jerrells, Baylor
* A.J. Abrams, Texas
* Damion James, Texas
* Josh Carter, Texas A&M
* John Roberson, Texas Tech

#### NABC

NABC All-District 8 First Team
* Craig Brackins, Iowa State
* Cole Aldrich, Kansas
* Sherron Collins, Kansas
* DeMarre Carroll, Missouri
* Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Second Team
* Curtis Jerrells, Baylor
* Willie Warren, Oklahoma
* James Anderson, Oklahoma State
* A.J. Abrams, Texas
* Damion James, Texas

### All-Americans

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
* USBWA, First Team
* CBSSports.com, First Team
* Sporting News, First Team
* Sports Illustrated, First Team
* Fox Sports, First Team
* Adolph Rupp Award, First Team
* Associated Press, First Team
Sherron Collins, Kansas
* USBWA, Second Team
* CBSSports.com, Second Team
* Fox Sports, Second Team
* Sporting News, Third Team
* Associated Press, Third Team
Craig Brackins, Iowa State
* Associated Press, Honorable Mention
Cole Aldrich, Kansas
* Associated Press, Honorable Mention
DeMarre Carroll, Missouri
* Associated Press, Honorable Mention

#### Freshman teams

Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas
* CBSSports.com, First Team
Willie Warren, Oklahoma
* CBSSports.com, First Team
* Fox Sports, First Team

### NCAA All-Regional teams

South Regional
* Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
West Regional
* DeMarre Carroll, Missouri
* J.T. Tiller, Missouri
Midwest Regional
* Cole Aldrich, Kansas

## Statistical leaders

Statistics shown cover the entire 2008–09 season.

### Individual

Scoring :
| Name | School | Pts | PPG |
| Griffin, Blake | OU | 794 | 22.7 |
| Brackins, Craig | ISU | 645 | 20.2 |
| Collins, Sherron | KU | 661 | 18.9 |
| Anderson, James | OSU | 638 | 18.2 |
| Higgins, Cory | CU | 538 | 17.4 |
| Abrams, A.J. | UT | 580 | 16.6 |
| Carroll, DeMarre | MU | 629 | 16.6 |
| Jerrells, Curtis | BU | 621 | 16.3 |
| Dunn, LaceDarius | BU | 596 | 15.7 |
| James, Damion | UT | 540 | 15.4 |
Rebounding :
| Name | School | TOT | RPG |
| Griffin, Blake | OU | 504 | 14.4 |
| Aldrich, Cole | KU | 387 | 11.1 |
| Brackins, Craig | ISU | 303 | 9.5 |
| James, Damion | UT | 322 | 9.2 |
| Rogers, Kevin | BU | 288 | 7.6 |
| Elonu, Chinemelu | TAMU | 249 | 7.3 |
| Muonelo, Obi | OSU | 252 | 7.2 |
| Carroll, DeMarre | MU | 273 | 7.2 |
| Davis, Bryan | TAMU | 222 | 6.5 |
| Moses, Marshall | OSU | 196 | 6.1 |
Assists :
| Name | School | TOT | APG |
| Roberson, John | TTU | 212 | 6.42 |
| Eaton, Byron | OSU | 199 | 5.69 |
| Garrett, Diante | ISU | 161 | 5.03 |
| Collins, Sherron | KU | 174 | 4.97 |
| Jerrells, Curtis | BU | 186 | 4.89 |
| Mason, Justin | UT | 141 | 4.03 |
| Johnson, Austin | OU | 140 | 3.89 |
| Miller, Cookie | NU | 109 | 3.63 |
| Tiller, J.T. | MU | 138 | 3.63 |
| Clemente, Denis | KSU | 112 | 3.50 |
Steals :
| Name | School | TOT | SPG |
| Eaton, Byron | OSU | 77 | 2.20 |
| Higgins, Cory | CU | 59 | 1.90 |
| Tiller, J.T. | MU | 68 | 1.79 |
| Harris, Terrel | OSU | 61 | 1.74 |
| Pullen, Jacob | KSU | 54 | 1.59 |
| Dugat, Henry | BU | 59 | 1.55 |
| Carroll, DeMarre | MU | 59 | 1.55 |
| Jerrells, Curtis | BU | 59 | 1.55 |
| Miller, Cookie | NU | 45 | 1.50 |
| Harley, Steve | NU | 45 | 1.4 |
Blocks :
| Name | School | TOT | BPG |
| Aldrich, Cole | KU | 94 | 2.69 |
| Elonu, Chinemelu | TAMU | 53 | 1.56 |
| Davis, Bryan | TAMU | 46 | 1.35 |
| Atchley, Connor | UT | 45 | 1.32 |
| Griffin, Blake | OU | 41 | 1.17 |
| Griffin, Taylor | OU | 36 | 1.00 |
| Acy, Quincy | BU | 34 | 1.00 |
| Pittman, Dexter | UT | 33 | 0.94 |
| Samuels, Jamar | KSU | 32 | 0.94 |
| Brackins, Craig | ISU | 30 | 0.94 |
Field Goals :
| Name | School | FG% |
| Griffin, Blake | OU | .654 |
| Aldrich, Cole | KU | .598 |
| Carroll, DeMarre | MU | .558 |
| Rogers, Kevin | BU | .557 |
| Anderson, James | OSU | .482 |
| Higgins, Cory | CU | .476 |
| Brackins, Craig | ISU | .475 |
| James, Damion | UT | .468 |
| Collins, Sherron | KU | .434 |
| Jerrells, Curtis | BU | .431 |
3-Pt Field Goals :
| Name | School | 3FG% |
| Voskuil, Alan | TTU | .435 |
| Holmes, B.J. | TAMU. | .415 |
| Brown, Fred | KSU | .415 |
| Lawrence, Matt | MU | .408 |
| Anderson, James | OSU | .408 |
| Velander, Paul | NU | .400 |
| Carter, Josh | TAMU | .399 |
| Page, Keiton | OSU | .399 |
| Muonelo, Obi | OSU | .398 |
| Abrams, A.J. | UT | .396 |
Free Throws :
| Name | School | FT% |
| Voskuil, Alan | TTU | .896 |
| Abrams, A.J. | UT | .848 |
| Carter, Josh | TAMU | .847 |
| Higgins, Cory | CU | .830 |
| Anderson, James | OSU | .829 |
| Roberson, John | TTU | .829 |
| Dunn, LaceDarius | BU | .821 |
| Clemente, Denis | KSU | .798 |
| Collins, Sherron | KU | .795 |
| Aldrich, Cole | KU | .792 |

### Team
## Postseason
### Big Twelve tournament

| First Round Wednesday, March 11 | First Round Wednesday, March 11 | First Round Wednesday, March 11 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 12 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 12 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 12 | Semifinals Friday, March 13 | Semifinals Friday, March 13 | Semifinals Friday, March 13 | Finals Saturday, March 14 | Finals Saturday, March 14 | Finals Saturday, March 14 |
| | | | 1 | #11 Kansas | 64 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Baylor | 71 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Nebraska | 49 | 9 | Baylor | 71 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Baylor | 65 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Baylor | 65 | | | | 9 | Baylor | 76 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Texas | 70 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Kansas State | 58 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Texas | 61 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Texas | 67 | 5 | Texas | 61 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Colorado | 56 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Colorado | 56 | | | | | | | 9 | Baylor | 60 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | #14 Missouri | 73 |
| | | | 2 | #6 Oklahoma | 70 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Oklahoma State | 71 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 81 | 7 | Oklahoma State | 71 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Iowa State | 67 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Iowa State | 67 | | | | 7 | Oklahoma State | 59 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | #14 Missouri | 67 | | | |
| | | | 3 | #14 Missouri | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Texas Tech | 60 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 83 | 11 | Texas Tech | 60 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 88 | | | | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

| School | Region | Seed | Round 1 | Round 2 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight |
| Oklahoma | South | 2 | 15 Morgan St., W 82–54 | 10 Michigan, W 73–63 | 3 Syracuse, W 84–71 | 1 North Carolina, L 60–72 |
| Missouri | West | 3 | 14 Cornell, W 78–59 | 6 Marquette, W 83–79 | 2 Memphis, W 102–91 | 1 Connecticut, L 75–82 |
| Kansas | Midwest | 3 | 14 North Dakota State, W 84–74 | 11 Dayton, W 60–43 | 2 Michigan State, L 62–67 | |
| Texas | East | 7 | 10 Minnesota, W 76–62 | 2 Duke, L 69–74 | | |
| Oklahoma State | East | 8 | 9 Tennessee, W 77–75 | 1 Pittsburgh, L 76–84 | | |
| Texas A&M | West | 9 | 8 BYU, W 79–66 | 1 Connecticut, L 66–92 | | |

### National Invitation Tournament

| School | Seed | Round 1 | Round 2 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| Baylor | 3 | 6 Georgetown, W 74–72 | 2 Virginia Tech, W 84–66 | 1 Auburn, W 74–72 | 1 San Diego St., W 76–62 | 2 Penn St., L 63–69 |
| Kansas State | 4 | 5 Illinois St., W 83–79 (OT) | 1 San Diego St., L 52–70 | | | |
| Nebraska | 6 | 3 New Mexico, L 71–83 | | | | |