Kansas’ Azubuike is AP Big 12 player of year, Dotson a close second

Kansas center Udoka Azubuike is The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year, with the 7-foot senior averaging a double-double for the regular-season conference champion and top-ranked Jayhawks.

Azubuike and Kansas sophomore guard Devon Dotson were the only unanimous picks for the AP All-Big 12 first team released Tuesday, and split all the votes for player of the year. Azubuike got 10 votes for top player from a panel of journalists who regularly cover the Big 12 in the league’s five states, and Dotson got the other seven.

Baylor sophomore guard Jared Butler, TCU senior guard Desmond Bane and forward Kristian Doolittle, Oklahoma‘s only senior, were the other first-team selections.

Baylor’s Scott Drew was picked as coach of the year. Before dropping three of their last five games, the No. 5 Bears had set a Big 12 record by winning 23 games in a row. The Big 12 runner-ups were the nation’s No. 1 team for five weeks in a row before a home loss to Kansas on Feb. 22 ended their winning streak.

Azubuike is the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double at 13.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. He leads the nation making 74.8% of his field goal attempts (181 of 242). Dotson is the league’s top scorer at 18.1 points a game.

Bane, the league’s top 3-point shooter with 2.9 a game while making 44.1% of his attempts, is second in the Big 12 with 16.6 points a game. Butler is the third-leading scorer at 16.0 points a game, including 2.6 made 3-pointers a game. Doolittle, a 6-7 forward, averages 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds.

Texas Tech freshman guard Jahmi’us Ramsey (15.0-point average) was the AP newcomer of the year and was among the second-team selections along with Kansas junior guard Marcus Garrett, West Virginia freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe and Baylor teammates Freddie Gillespie and MaCio Teague.