2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
NCAA Tournament National Champions; Big 12 Tournament champions; Big 12 regular season co-champions
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 4
Record	37–3 (13–3 Big 12)
Head coach	Bill Self (5th Season);
Assistant coaches	Danny Manning; Joe Dooley; Kurtis Townsend;
Home arena	Allen Fieldhouse
	Seasons ← 2006–07 2008–09 →

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 2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball season of 2007–08, which was the Jayhawks' 110th Season. The team was led by Bill Self in his fifth season as head coach. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Jayhawks finished the season 37–3, 13–3 in Big 12 play to finish in second place. They defeated Nebraska, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M to win the Big 12 Tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Portland State in the First Round, UNLV in the Second Round, Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen, and Davidson in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four. In the National Semifinal, they defeated North Carolina before defeating Memphis in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, marking the third tournament title in the school's history and fifth national title overall.

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Chase Buford SG	San Antonio, TX	Alamo Heights HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	N/A
Chase Buford SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 71
Cole Aldrich C	Bloomington, MN	Jefferson HS	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Nov 1, 2005
Cole Aldrich C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97
Tyrel Reed PG	Burlington, KS	Burlington HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 15, 2006
Tyrel Reed PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 93
Conner Teahan SF	Leawood, KS	Rockhurst HS (Kansas City, MO)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Feb 26, 2007
Conner Teahan SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 34 Rivals: NR ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kansas 2007 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11. "2007 Kansas Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11. "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11.

Roster

2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
C	45	Cole Aldrich	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Fr	—	Bloomington, MN
F	00	Darrell Arthur	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	—	Dallas, TX
G	11	Brennan Bechard	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	—	Lawrence, KS
G	22	Chase Buford	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	—	San Antonio, TX
G	10	Jeremy Case	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	—	McAlester, OK
G	15	Mario Chalmers	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	—	Anchorage, AK
G	4	Sherron Collins	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Crane Tech	Chicago, IL
F	32	Darnell Jackson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Sr	—	Oklahoma City, OK
C	24	Sasha Kaun	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Sr	—	Tomsk, Russia
C	54	Matt Kleinmann	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Jr	—	Overland Park, KS
G	12	Brady Morningstar	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	So	—	Lawrence, KS
G	14	Tyrel Reed	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	—	Burlington, KS
G	3	Russell Robinson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	—	New York, NY
G	25	Brandon Rush	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	—	Kansas City, MO
G	5	Rodrick Stewart	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	—	Seattle, WA
G	2	Conner Teahan	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	—	Leawood, KS
G	40	Brad Witherspoon	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	—	Humboldt, KS

Head coach

Bill Self

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
2007/11/01* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Pittsburg State	W 94–59		Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/06* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Fort Hays State	W 93–56		Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
Regular season
2007/11/09* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Louisiana-Monroe	W 107–78	1–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/11* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	UMKC Jayhawk Invitational	W 85–62	2–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/15* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Washburn Jayhawk Invitational	W 92–60	3–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/21* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Northern Arizona Jayhawk Invitational	W 87–46	4–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/25* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 4	Arizona Jayhawk Invitational/Big 12-Pac-10 Hardwood Series	W 76–72 ^OT	5–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/11/28* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 4	Florida Atlantic	W 87–49	6–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/12/02* 1:00 p.m., FSN	No. 4	at No. 24 USC	W 59–55	7–0	Galen Center (10,017) Los Angeles, California
2007/12/05* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 3	Eastern Washington	W 85–47	8–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/12/08* 1:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	DePaul	W 84–66	9–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/12/15* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 3	vs. Ohio American Century Investments Shootout	W 88–51	10–0	Sprint Center (18,482) Kansas City, Missouri
2007/12/18* 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	at Georgia Tech	W 71–66	11–0	Alexander Memorial Coliseum (9,191) Atlanta, Georgia
2007/12/22* 12:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 3	Miami (OH)	W 78–54	12–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2007/12/29* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 3	Yale	W 86–53	13–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/01/05* 11:00 a.m., ESPN	No. 3	at Boston College	W 85–60	14–0	Conte Forum (8,606) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
2008/01/08* 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 3	Loyola (MD)	W 90–60	15–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/01/12 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	at Nebraska	W 79–58	16–0	Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,829) Lincoln, Nebraska
2008/01/14 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	Oklahoma	W 85–55	17–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/01/19 7:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 3	at Missouri	W 76–70	18–0	Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, Missouri
2008/01/23 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	Iowa State	W 83–59	19–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/01/26 12:45 p.m., BIG 12-ESPN+	No. 2	Nebraska	W 84–49	20–0	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/01/30 7:00 p.m., BIG 12-ESPN+	No. 2	at No. 24 Kansas State	L 75–84	20–1	Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, Kansas
2008/02/02 2:30 p.m., ABC	No. 2	at Colorado	W 72–59	21–1	Coors Events Center (10,347) Boulder, Colorado
2008/02/04 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 5	Missouri	W 90–71	22–1	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/02/09 7:00 p.m., J-TV	No. 5	Baylor	W 100–90	23–1	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/02/11 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	at No. 11 Texas	L 69–72	23–2	Frank Erwin Center (16,755) Austin, Texas
2008/02/16 12:45 p.m., BIG 12-ESPN+	No. 3	Colorado	W 69–45	24–2	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/02/23 3:00 p.m., CBS	No. 5	at Oklahoma State	L 60–61	24–3	Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,905) Stillwater, Oklahoma
2008/02/27 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 7	at Iowa State	W 75–64	25–3	Hilton Coliseum (13,624) Ames, Iowa
2008/03/01 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 7	Kansas State ESPN College GameDay	W 88–74	26–3	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/03/03 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	Texas Tech	W 109–51	27–3	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
2008/03/08 3:00 p.m., CBS	No. 6	at Texas A&M	W 72–55	28–3	Reed Arena (12,054) College Station, Texas
Big 12 Tournament
2008/03/14 6:00 p.m., BIG 12-ESPN+	No. 5	vs. Nebraska Quarterfinals	W 64–54	29–3	Sprint Center (18,897) Kansas City, Missouri
2008/03/15 3:20 p.m., BIG 12-ESPN+	No. 5	vs. Texas A&M Semifinals	W 77–71	30–3	Sprint Center (18,897) Kansas City, Missouri
2008/03/16 2:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 5	vs. No. 6 Texas Championship	W 84–74	31–3	Sprint Center (19,047) Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2008 11:25 a.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. (16) Portland State First round	W 85–61	32–3	Qwest Center Omaha (17,839) Omaha, Nebraska
March 22, 2008 5:50 p.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. (8) UNLV Second round	W 75–56	33–3	Qwest Center Omaha (17,162) Omaha, Nebraska
March 28, 2008 8:50 p.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. (12) Villanova Regional Semifinals	W 72–57	34–3	Ford Field (57,028) Detroit, Michigan
March 30, 2008 4:05 p.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. No. 23 (10) Davidson Regional Finals	W 59–57	35–3	Ford Field (57,563) Detroit, Michigan
April 5, 2008 8:47 p.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. No. 1 (1) North Carolina National Semifinals	W 84–66	36–3	Alamodome (43,718) San Antonio, Texas
April 7, 2008 8:21 p.m., CBS	No. 4 (1)	vs. No. 3 (1) Memphis National Championship	W 75–68 ^OT	37–3	Alamodome (43,257) San Antonio, Texas
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll, NCAA tournament seeds shown in parenthesis. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

Rankings

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	Wk 19	Final
AP	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	4	3	4	6	5	4	4	–
Coaches	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	5	3	5	7	6	5	4	1

Awards

Big 12 Sixth Man Award^[2]: Sherron Collins (Sophomore, Guard); he is the first KU player to receive the award
Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week: Darnell Jackson (Senior, Forward), January 7 (co-winner)^[3]; Brandon Rush (Junior, Guard), March 3 (co-winner)^[4]; Sherron Collins, March 9 (co-winner)^[5]
All-Big 12 Teams^[2]: Darrell Arthur (Sophomore, Forward), First Team; Brandon Rush, First Team; he is just the second player in Big 12 history to be a three-time All-Big 12 First Team choice; Mario Chalmers (Junior, Guard), Second Team; Darnell Jackson, Third Team
Big 12 All-Defensive Team^[2]: Mario Chalmers; it is his third straight season; Russell Robinson (Senior, Guard); it is his third straight season
Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team^[6]: Brandon Rush, as Most Outstanding Player; Mario Chalmers
NCAA (Midwest) Regional All-Tournament Team^[7]: Brandon Rush; Mario Chalmers; Sasha Kaun (Senior, Center)
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player^[8]: Mario Chalmers

References

^ "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2008 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Selected". Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Men's Basketball Weekly Honors Announced (Jan. 7)". Retrieved 2008-01-12.^{[dead link]}
^ "Three Players Share Men's Basketball Weekly Honors (March 3)". Retrieved 2008-03-04.^{[dead link]}
^ "Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Weekly Awards Announced". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Kansas Defeats Texas 84–74 to Win the Big 12 Championship". Retrieved 2008-03-17.^{[dead link]}
^ "Kansas Defeats Davidson 59–57 to Advance to the Final Four". Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
^ "Chalmers' big shot leads Kansas to first national title since 1988". Retrieved 2008-04-08.^{[dead link]}

[Standings-1] "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.

[AllBig12-2] "2008 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Selected". Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

[3] "Men's Basketball Weekly Honors Announced (Jan. 7)". Retrieved 2008-01-12.^{[dead link]}

[4] "Three Players Share Men's Basketball Weekly Honors (March 3)". Retrieved 2008-03-04.^{[dead link]}

[5] "Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Weekly Awards Announced". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

[6] "Kansas Defeats Texas 84–74 to Win the Big 12 Championship". Retrieved 2008-03-17.^{[dead link]}

[7] "Kansas Defeats Davidson 59–57 to Advance to the Final Four". Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-30.

[8] "Chalmers' big shot leads Kansas to first national title since 1988". Retrieved 2008-04-08.^{[dead link]}

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v t e Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Venues	Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927) Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955) Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State Missouri
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay Blue blood status Champions Classic "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" Jayhawkers
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics