2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2008–09 Villanova Wildcats Villanova Wildcats logo.svg Big East Conference Big East 4 11 30–8 13–5 Jay Wright Pat Chambers Doug West Jason Donnelly The Pavilion NCAA tournament Final Four The 2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by Jay Wright in his eighth year as head coach of the Wildcats. The Wildcats played their home games at The Pavilion on the school's campus as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 30–8, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the semifinals of the Big East tournament to Louisville. The Wildcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East region. They defeated American, UCLA, Duke, and Pittsburgh to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four they were defeated by the eventual national champion for the second straight year, North Carolina. Previous season The Wildcats finished the 2007–08 season 22–13, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in a tie for eighth place. The Wildcats lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Georgetown. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Clemson and Siena to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they lost to the eventual national champions, Kansas. Offseason Recruiting class of 2008 SourceVillanova Class of 2008 – RivalsVillanova Class of 2008 – Scouthttps://archive.today/20120709131619/http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?page=commits&season=2008&schoolId=2305 Villanova Class of 2008 – ESPN no no 2008 Maurice Sutton C Upper Marlboro, MD Largo HS 6 10 190 2008-05-21 3 3 87 |- | colspan="7" style="padding-left:10px;" | Overall Recruiting Rankings:     Scout – NR     Rivals – NR http://villanova.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1082109 2008 Team Recruiting Rankings – Rivals 2011-07-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20111005015419/http://villanova.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1082109 2011-10-05 dead      ESPN – NR  |} Roster Villanova Basketball2008–09 RosterG/F2220pxDwayne AndersonSRWashington, D.C. (St. Thomas More)F2020pxShane ClarkSRPhiladelphia, PA (Hargrave Military Academy)G420pxJason ColendaSOFairfax, VA (Bishop O'Connell)F3320pxDante CunninghamSRSilver Spring, MD (Potomac)G1020pxCorey FisherSOThe Bronx, New York City (St. Patrick's, NJ)C320pxMaurice SuttonFRUpper Marlboro, MD (Largo HS, MD)F020pxAntonio PenaSOBrooklyn, New York City (St. Thomas More)G1520pxReggie ReddingJRPhiladelphia, PA (St. Joseph's Prep)G120pxScottie ReynoldsJRHerndon, VA (Herndon)G2420pxCorey StokesSOBayonne, NJ (St. Benedict's)F4220pxFrank TchuisiSRDouala, Cameroon (St. Benedict's)F2320pxRussell WootenJRChula Vista, CA (St. Augustine) Season Before the season began, on October 22, 2008, the Wildcats were selected to finish fifth among the 16 Big East Conference teams in the annual preseason coaches' poll at Madison Square Garden.http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102208aab.html Villanova Selected Fifth in BIG EAST Pre-Season Coaches Poll 2018-02-23 As part of recent tradition, the 2008 Hoopsmania (an on-campus kickoff of the Villanova Basketball season), included a performance by hip-hop artist T-Pain. Previous artists have included 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and MIMS.Hoopsmania Kickoff The Villanova-Pitt game on January 28, 2009 was the last game to be held at the Wachovia Spectrum which drew a crowd of 17,449.http://villanova.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020109aaa.html Archived copy 2009-02-02 2009-02-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090209083529/http://villanova.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020109aaa.html dead The Wildcats finished perfect the year at the Pavilion. Villanova's 25 regular-season wins tied a school record. It had been done three times before, but not since 1950–51. During the 2009 Big East Awards Ceremony, head coach Jay Wright was named the 2009 Big East Coach of the Year. He won the award twice in the previous four years. Villanova senior forward Dante Cunningham was named the Big East's Most Improved Player, and sophomore guard Corey Fisher won the Sixth Man Award. Cunningham, a senior forward, won second-team honors on the all-Big East team, while junior guard Scottie Reynolds took honorable mention.http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/homepage/20090310_Villanovas_Jay_Wright_named_Big_East_Coach_of_the_Year.html Jay Wright Big East Coach of the Year . Accessed 2009-03-12. https://archive.today/20090607035349/http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/homepage/20090310_Villanovas_Jay_Wright_named_Big_East_Coach_of_the_Year.html Archived 2009-06-06. Schedule and results yes |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats| Exhibition Nov 6, 2008 yes 25 Northwood Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia, PA 75–37 |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats| Non-conference regular season Nov 14, 2008 yes 25 Albany The Pavilion Villanova, PA 78–60 1–0 Nov 17, 2008 yes 23 2008–09 Fordham Fordham Rams Fordham The Pavilion Villanova, PA 107–68 2–0 Nov 19, 2008 yes 23 2008–09 Niagara Niagara Purple Eagles Niagara The Pavilion Villanova, PA ESPNU 77–62 3–0 Nov 25, 2008 yes 22 2008–09 Monmouth Monmouth Hawks Monmouth The Pavilion Villanova, PA Philly Hoop Group Classic 71–48 4–0 Nov 28, 2008 yes 22 2008–09 Towson Towson Tigers Towson The Palestra Philadelphia, PA Philly Hoop Group Classic 64–47 5–0 Nov 29, 2008 yes 22 2008–09 Rhode Island Rhode Island Rams Rhode Island The Palestra Philadelphia, PA Philly Hoop Group Classic 78–65 6–0 Dec 2, 2008 yes 16 yes 2008–09 Penn Penn Quakers Penn The Palestra Philadelphia, PA Big 5 69–47 7–0 Dec 4, 2008 yes 16 2008–09 Houston Baptist Houston Baptist Huskies Houston Baptist The Pavilion Villanova, PA 93–57 8–0 Dec 9, 2008 yes 12 yes Texas 6 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Jimmy V Classic ESPN 58–67 8–1 Dec 11, 2008 yes 12 2008–09 Saint Joseph's Saint Joseph's Hawks Saint Joseph's The Pavilion Vilanova, PA Big 5 59–56 9–1 Dec 11, 2008 yes 12 yes 2008–09 La Salle La Salle Explorers La Salle Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA Big 5 70–59 10–1 Dec 22, 2008 yes 16 2008–09 Navy Navy Midshipmen Navy The Pavilion Vilanova, PA 78–68 11–1 Dec 29, 2008 yes 13 Temple The Pavilion Vilanova, PA Big 5 ESPNU 62–45 12–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats|Big East regular season Jan 1, 2009 13 yes Marquette 13 Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI ESPN 72–79 12–2 0–1 Jan 6, 2009 17 yes 2008–09 Seton Hall Seton Hall Pirate Seton Hall Prudential Center Newark, NJ WPHL 89–85 OT 13–2 1–1 Jan 10, 2009 17 Louisville 21 Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA ESPN 60–61 13–3 1–2 Jan 18 22 St. John's The Pavilion Villanova, PA WPHL 76–57 14–3 2–2 Jan 21, 2009 21 yes Connecticut 3 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Hartford, CT ESPN 83–89 14–4 2–3 Jan 24 21 yes South Florida USF Sun Dome Tampa, FL WPHL 70–61 15–4 3–3 Jan 28, 2009 21 yes Pittsburgh 3 Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia, PA ESPNU 67–57 16–4 4–3 Feb 1, 2009 21 2008–09 Cincinnati Cincinnati Wildcats Cincinnati The Pavilion Vilanova, PA WPHL 71–50 17–4 5–3 Feb 4, 2009 16 yes Providence Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI WPHL 94–91 18–4 6–3 Feb 7, 2009 16 Syracuse 20 The Pavilion Vilanova, PA ESPN 102–85 19–4 7–3 Feb 10, 2009 13 Marquette 12 The Pavilion Vilanova, PA ESPN2 102–84 20–4 8–3 Feb 13, 2009 13 yes West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV ESPN 72–93 20–5 8–4 Feb 19 14 Rutgers The Pavilion Vilanova, PA ESPN2 82–72 21–5 9–4 Feb 22 14 yes Syracuse 25 Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY CBS 89–86 22–5 10–4 Feb 25, 2009 12 yes 2008–09 DePaul DePaul Blue Demons DePaul Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL WPHL 74–72 23–5 11–4 Feb 28, 2009 12 Georgetown Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA ESPN 54–56 23–6 11–5 Mar 2, 2009 16 yes Notre Dame Joyce Center South Bend, IN ESPN 77–60 24–6 12–5 Mar 5, 2009 16 Providence The Pavilion Vilanova, PA ESPN2 97–80 25–6 13–5 |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats|Big East tournament Mar 12, 2009 yes 13 4 Marquette 21 5 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Quarterfinals 76–75 26–6 Mar 13, 2009 yes 13 4 Louisville 5 1 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Semifinals 63–82 26–7 |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats|NCAA tournament Mar 19, 2008 yes yes 12 3E American 14E Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA First Round 80–67 27–7 Mar 21, 2009 yes yes 12 3E UCLA 17 6E Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA Second Round 89–69 28–7 Mar 26, 2009 yes yes 12 3E Duke 5 2E TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA Sweet Sixteen 77–54 29–7 Mar 28, 2009 yes yes 12 3E Pittsburgh 4 1E TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA Elite Eight 78–76 30–7 Apr 4, 2009 yes yes 12 3E North Carolina 2 1W Ford Field Detroit, MI Final Four 69–83 30–8 AP Poll Eastern Time Rankings 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 17 23 23 20 17 15 18 18 15 18 23 20 21 17 13 12 10 11 10 Coaches 0 18 25 23 22 16 12 15 16 13 17 22 21 21 16 13 14 12 16 13 4 *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings. References Villanova Category:Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons Villanova Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons