Missouri Tiger head coach Mike Anderson won the 2009 Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award after leading the Tigers to a school-record 31 wins to advance into the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.
The Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award honors a Division I men’s basketball coach who through his actions on and off the court, makes an outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball. Anderson led a team picked to finish 7th in the Big 12 preseason poll to finish with the most improved record in the country, going from a 16-16 mark in 2007-08, to 31-7 this season.
Mizzou beat Cornell (78-59), #23 Marquette (83-79) and #2 Memphis (102-91) to reach the Elite Eight in Glendale, Ariz. An interesting tidbit, Missouri was the only program in this year’s Sweet 16 to have not received a single vote for the Preseason Top 25 poll.
Anderson will receive the award on Sunday morning at the NABC Past Presidents Luncheon in Detroit.