The 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 5, 2007 ended with the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 7, 2008, at the Alamodome in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Season headlines

* Behind Mario Chalmers' clutch three-pointer at the end of regulation, the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

won an overtime battle against the Memphis Tigers to take their third NCAA tournament title, twenty years after Danny Manning led the Jayhawks to their last championship. Bill Self sheds the title of "best coach never to go to a Final Four" in dramatic fashion. * For the first time since teams were seeded for the NCAA tournament, all four number one seeds (

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Memphis,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

) advanced to the Final Four. * In February, Kelvin Sampson agreed to a buyout and was relieved of his duties as coach of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

following a recruiting scandal concerning impermissible phone calls. Dan Dakich was named interim coach, but the damage had been done as the Hoosiers (ranked No. 14 at the time Sampson was fired) go 3–4 the rest of the season and bow out to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in a listless performance in the first round of the NCAA tournament. After the season, IU hired Marquette coach Tom Crean to tackle the major rebuilding job ahead. * Sophomore

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

put on a shooting display as the Davidson Wildcats upset Gonzaga, Georgetown and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

- then narrowly succumbed to eventual champion Kansas 59–57 - to go to their first Elite Eight since 1969. Curry scored 40, 30, 33 and 25 points in the four games and was named the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player. * North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Kansas State's Michael Beasley engaged in a season-long battle for National player of the year honors. Hansbrough swept the POY awards, while Beasley won all Freshman of the Year awards and joined Hansbrough as a unanimous first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. * Memphis flirted with being the first undefeated team since 1976. They started the season 26–0, but on February 23 cross-state rival

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

defeated the Tigers 66–62 on Memphis' home floor in a battle of the #1 and #2 teams. The Tigers finished the season 38–2, setting a single-season record for wins. However, all 38 wins were vacated by the NCAA in 2009, due to an invalid SAT score for star Derrick Rose. * After beating Memphis, Tennessee attained the #1 ranking for the first time in school history. They lost their next game at Vanderbilt. * The preseason AP All-American team was named on November 5. Tyler Hansbrough of

was the leading vote-getter (71 of 72 votes). The rest of the team included Roy Hibbert of Georgetown (62 votes), Chris Lofton of

(61), Drew Neitzel of Michigan State (31) and Darren Collison of

(31). * The Drake Bulldogs — picked in the preseason to finish ninth in the 10-team

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

— had a dream season, starting 13–0, finishing 28–5 - and were ranked as high as #14 at one point during the season. Drake's charge was led by an unlikely hero — senior point guard Adam Emmenecker, a three-year walk-on who would go on to capture both the MVC's regular-season and tournament

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

awards. * On February 4, career coaching wins leader

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

retired as head coach of Texas Tech, handing the reins to his son Pat. Knight would reappear as a studio host for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in the postseason. * A severe storm ripped a hole in the Georgia Dome, wreaking havoc on the SEC tournament. After game delays and a venue change, the Georgia Bulldogs scored an unlikely championship run that included winning two games in one day. * At

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, coach

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

took an unexpected leave of absence just prior to the season's start. Kevin O'Neill, assistant coach and supposed Olson successor, was named interim coach. Olson announced he would return for 2008–09 and did not retain O'Neill on his staff as rumors of a disagreement between the two swirled. * The first College Basketball Invitational was held, offering a post-season alternative to teams not selected for the NCAA tournament or NIT. Tulsa defeats Bradley in a best of three series to take the inaugural title. * Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser died at 56 of an apparent heart attack the July before the season began. Assistant Dino Gaudio was named successor and led the Deacons through an emotional year punctuated by an upset of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. * Lester Hudson of Tennessee-Martin recorded the first-ever

quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assist ...

in NCAA history. Against Central Baptist College, Hudson scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and recorded 10 steals in a 116–74 win. * On January 23, Baylor beat

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

116–110 in five overtimes in the season's longest (and perhaps wildest) game. * Houston's Rob McKiver scored 52 points (including seven three-pointers) in a game against Southern Mississippi to set the single-game scoring high for the season. * Stephen Curry broke the NCAA record for three-pointers made in a season, connecting on 162. The previous record had been held by Butler's Darrin Fitzgerald set in 1987. *

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

, and Eddie Sutton each won their 800th career games. * North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, Tennessee's Chris Lofton, Vanderbilt's Shan Foster, Virginia's Sean Singletary, Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee, Utah State's Jaycee Carroll, Colorado's Richard Roby, UNC Greensboro's Kyle Hines, High Point's Arizona Reid, Rider's Jason Thompson, Hofstra's Antoine Agudio, New Orleans' Bo McCalebb and VMI's Reggie Williams all eclipsed the career 2000-point mark during the season. * Effective this season, the Mid-Continent Conference changed its name to The Summit League. *

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Cal State Bakersfield, Florida Gulf Coast, South Carolina Upstate and North Carolina Central, all moved up to Division I competition. * Conference realignments: IPFW, North Dakota State and South Dakota State began play in the Summit League, while

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

competed in the Big West Conference for the first time. All four programs were independent in 2006–07. Valparaiso began play in the Horizon League after leaving the Summit League. Florida Gulf Coast and South Carolina Upstate joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. * Charles Barkley, Arnie Ferrin, Danny Manning, Billy Packer, Jim Phelan, Nolan Richardson and Dick Vitale were inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. * Billy Packer announced his last Final Four after 34 years of broadcasting the event.

Major rule changes

Beginning in 2007–08, the following rules changes were implemented: * During free throws, eliminated the first lane space nearest the basket on each side of the lane and used the second, third and fourth lane space on each side as an alignment for free throws. This rule had been used in NCAA women's basketball since the 2001–02 season. * Use of courtside monitor allowed for determining whether a flagrant foul occurred or to assess the situation during a fight.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 5, 2007.

Conference membership changes

These schools joined new conferences for the 2007–08 season.

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Thirty conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament. Conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

was the only

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

conference that did not hold a conference tournament, instead sending its regular-season champion, Cornell, to the NCAA tournament.

Conference standings

Division I independents

Nine schools played as Division I independents. Only , Longwood, , and were considered full

schools, as the rest were still in a transition phase from NCAA Division II.

Informal championships

Temple and Villanova finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

The NCAA Tournament tipped off on March 18, 2008 with the opening round game in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, and concluded on April 7 at the Alamodome in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Of the 65 teams that were invited to participate, 31 were automatic bids while 34 were at-large bids. The 34 at-large teams came from 10 conferences, with the Big East tying its own 2006 record with eight bids. Three other conferences, the Big 12, Pacific-10 Conference, and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

, had six teams invited to the tournament. Notably absent from the field were

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and Ohio State, the champions and runners-up of the 2007 tournament, the first time that both teams from a previous year's finals failed to make the tournament since 1980.

defeated Memphis, 75–68 in overtime to win their third NCAA Tournament championship, and Jayhawks guard Mario Chalmers was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four – Alamodome,
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

National Invitation tournament

After the NCAA Tournament field was announced, the National Invitation Tournament invited teams to participate. Eight teams were given automatic bids for winning their conference regular seasons, and 24 other teams were also invited. The field came from 10 conferences, with the Atlantic 10 having the most teams invited with four. The Atlantic Coast and Missouri Valley Conferences each had three bids, and five other conferences placed two teams in the tournament. Last year's NCAA finalists, Ohio State and

both made the semifinals, with the Buckeyes winning the tournament, defeating UMass 92–85 in the final. Ohio State center Kosta Koufos was named tournament MVP.

NIT semifinals and final

Played at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on April 1 and 3

College Basketball Invitational

The inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Tournament was held starting March 18 and ended with a best-of-three final which saw Tulsa defeat Bradley for the championship. Jerome Jordan of Tulsa was named tournament MVP.

Major upsets

Regular season and conference tournaments

* Oakland 68,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

62 * Gardner-Webb 84,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

68 * Robert Morris 57, Boston College 51 * Winthrop 76, Miami (FL) 71 *

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

80,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

55 *

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

82,

80 * Kentucky 72,

66 * Wake Forest 86,

73 * Washington 71,

NCAA tournament

* #13

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

70, #4

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

69 (OT) * #13

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

83, #4 Vanderbilt 64 * #10 Davidson 74, #2 Georgetown 70 * #10 Davidson 73, #3

56 * #12 Western Kentucky 101, #5 Drake 99 (OT)

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award: Tyler Hansbrough,

* Naismith Award: Tyler Hansbrough,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough,

* NABC Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough,

* Oscar Robertson Trophy ( USBWA): Tyler Hansbrough,

* Adolph Rupp Trophy: Tyler Hansbrough,

* CBS/ Chevrolet Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough,

* ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough,

Major freshman of the year awards

* USBWA Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State * ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State

Major coach of the year awards

Coach of the Year: Keno Davis, Drake * Henry Iba Award ( USBWA): Keno Davis, Drake * NABC Coach of the Year: Bob McKillop, Davidson * Naismith College Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Memphis * CBS/ Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Keno Davis, Drake * Adolph Rupp Cup: Bruce Pearl,

* ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Keno Davis, Drake

Other major awards

* Bob Cousy Award (Best point guard): D. J. Augustin,

* Pete Newell Big Man Award (Best big man): Michael Beasley, Kansas State * NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet,

* Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Mike Green, Butler * Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (top senior): Shan Foster, Vanderbilt * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Pat Calathes, St. Joseph's and Mark Tyndale, Temple (Co-MVPs) * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

metro area): Jason Thompson, Rider * Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award (Strong personal character): Mike Green, Butler

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season