It's down to an even dozen.
Missouri junior guard Phil Pressey was named one of the 12 finalists for the 2013 Bob Cousy National Point Guard of the Year Award on Thursday.
The group, which started out with a watch list of 80 candidates, was trimmed down by a national committee.
Pressey leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks No. 7 nationally in assists per game (7.2) and is closing in on Missouri's all-time assist record, needing just seven to pass former Tiger great Anthony Peeler (497). The preseason SEC Player of the Year, Pressey has averaged 8.5 assists over his last 11 games.
Pressey is currently third on the Tigers' roster in scoring at 12.1 points per game and owns a school record five point-assist double-doubles in his career. He also owns a school-best 12 double-figure assist nights.
Thursday marks the first day fans could vote at www.cousyaward.com for the top point guard. The player who receives the most fan votes will receive one vote toward the final committee vote. Fan voting will conclude March 7.
The list of 12 will be narrowed down to five players on March 11, and the final five players will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The committee is made up of media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the award will be presented at the Hall of Fame's Class Announcement on championship Monday in Atlanta as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A&M), D.J. Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Kemba Walker (Connecticut) and last year's recipient, Kendall Marshall (North Carolina).
Other finalists for the award include: Keith Appling, Michigan State; Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State; Trey Burke, Michigan; Aaron Craft, Ohio State; Matthew Dellavadova, Saint Mary's; Pierre Jackson, Baylor; Shane Larkin, Miami; Peyton Siva, Louisville; Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State; Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse; Nate Wolters, South Dakota State.