COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou men’s basketball head coach Frank Haith has been named US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District VI Coach of the Year, as announced by the USBWA on Tuesday (March 6). In all, the USBWA honored a Coach of the Year and Player of the Year from nine different districts. Coach Haith won the award for District VI, which covers the states of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska North Dakota and South Dakota.
The award for Haith comes just one day removed from seeing the Associated Press honor him as Big 12 Coach of the Year, marking the second major postseason coaching award for Haith. The first-year Tiger head coach has won more regular season games (27) and Big 12 games (14) than any other Mizzou coach before him as both totals are program records. He was also the first Tiger head coach since 1920-21 to win his first 14 games as Mizzou’s head coach. He guided the Tigers to a 27-4 overall mark and a 14-4 mark in Big 12 play.
Haith accomplished all of this despite losing All-Big 12 performer Laurence Bowers to a season-ending knee injury in the preseason and playing with just seven scholarship players for most of the year. Haith earned wins over three top-10 teams in 2011-12 and earned five wins over top-25 teams. Coach Haith’s four losses on the season are the least by a Tiger head coach since Norm Stewart finished the 1993-94 campaign with a 28-4 record.
Haith and the Tigers will return to action this Thursday (March 8) as they open action as the No. 2 seed in Big 12 Tournament. They will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
