2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season August 2023 2008–09 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball 125px November 14, 2008through March 7, 2009 16 Big East Network, ESPN Regular Season Louisville (16–2) Champion Connecticut, Pittsburgh (15–3) Hasheem Thabeet – ConnecticutDeJuan Blair – Pittsburgh Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 2009 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Louisville Jonny Flynn – Syracuse Most Valuable Player Basketball 2007–08 2009–10 The 2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 30th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. Leading up to, during, and following the season, it has been widely regarded as one of the most successful seasons in Big East Conference history, fielding multiple teams that received national recognition and achieved high levels of success. Louisville won the outright championship with a 16-2 record (1st). They were also champions of the Big East tournament (1st). Regular season Season summary & highlights Louisville won both the regular season outright and the tournament championship. Louisville finished the season ranked first in both AP and Coach's polls. Louisville received the overall #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Connecticut won the 2008 Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands. Pittsburgh won the 2008 Legends Classic Tournament. Syracuse won the 2008 College Basketball Experience (CBE) Classic tournament. Connecticut led the nation in blocked shots for the 8th consecutive year. Connecticut Head Coach, Jim Calhoun, won his 800th career game in Division I basketball, against Marquette. Syracuse Head Coach, Jim Boeheim, finished the season with 799 career wins (2009 tournament games included). Pittsburgh defeated #1 UConn twice, marking the first and second times the Panthers defeated a #1 ranked team. Connecticut center, Hasheem Thabeet, recorded a triple-double against Providence on January 31, 2009, with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots. Villanova tied a school record for regular season wins (25). Pittsburgh tied a school record for wins in a season (31), and set a school record for regular season conference wins (15). Connecticut tied a school record for best start to a season, at 24–1. Pittsburgh went undefeated at home. Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Louisville all reached #1 in the AP poll. Rankings The Big East set a record when it placed seven teams in the preseason Associated Press poll. It set another record by placing eight teams in the December 1st ranking, and broke that record when the ninth team entered the AP Top 25 on January 5.http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=3640593 BIG EAST Places Nine In This Week's National Polls 2009-03-30 2009-01-05 Big East Conference BigEast.org https://web.archive.org/web/20090622003520/http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=3640593 2009-06-22 dead Connecticut and North Carolina were the only two teams that did not vacate the top 5 in the AP poll all season. + 2008–09 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received Votes AP Pollhttp://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings 2009-03-30 2009-02-02 ESPN.com https://web.archive.org/web/20090417195931/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings 17 April 2009 dead Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18Cincinnati Connecticut 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 5 DePaul Georgetown 22 22 21 20 19 15 12 11 9 13 12 25 Louisville 3 3 3 11 9 9 19 18 23 20 9 7 5 5 7 6 6 5 1 Marquette 16 15 15 25 24 24 RV RV 18 14 11 8 8 10 10 8 13 21 23 Notre Dame 9 8 8 7 12 12 8 7 13 12 19 RV RV Pittsburgh 5 6 4 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 4 3 6 4 4 1 3 2 4 Providence RV RV Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall RV South Florida Syracuse RV RV RV 16 13 11 17 13 11 8 8 15 20 23 24 RV 25 18 13 Villanova 23 23 20 17 15 18 18 15 18 23 20 21 17 13 12 10 11 10 11 West Virginia RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV Statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPGLuke HarangodyND23.5Jeremy HazellSHU22.7Jerel McNealMarq19.8Sam YoungPitt19.2Dar TuckerDPU18.5 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPGDeJuan BlairPitt12.3Luke HarangodyND11.8Hasheem ThabeetConn10.9Jeff AdrienConn10.0Mac KoshwalDPU9.6 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPGLevance FieldsPitt7.5Jonny FlynnSyr6.7Terrence WilliamsUL5.0Dominic JamesMarq5.0Tory JacksonND4.9 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPGPaul GauseSHU2.7Terrence WilliamsUL2.3Dominic JamesMarq2.1Jerel McNealMarq2.0Greg MonroeGU1.9 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPGHasheem ThabeetConn4.3Gregory EchiniqueRU2.4Hamady NdiayeRU2.2John GarciaSHU1.8Terrence JenningsUL1.6 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG%Arinze OnuakuSyr.667Randall HankePC.653Hasheem ThabeetConn.649Rick JacksonSyr.623John GarciaSHU.606 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG%Ashton GibbsPitt.439Ryan AyersND.439Preston KnowlesUL.432Kyle McAlarneyND.426Corey StokesVU.425 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT%Sharaud CurryPC.845Mike RosarioRU.839Wesley MatthewsMarq.829Lazar HaywardMarq.820Scottie ReynoldsVU.817 end Postseason Big East tournament 2009 Big East men's basketball tournament For the first time ever, all 16 teams in the conference would have the chance to participate in the Big East tournament. Under this new format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 10, 2009, through Saturday, March 14, 2009. A low-seeded team could have theoretically played all five days if it won its games in the first four rounds, but this did not turn out to be the case. 1–4 Seeding: (1) Louisville, (2) Pittsburgh, (3) Connecticut, (4) Villanova 5–8 Seeding: (5) Marquette, (6) Syracuse, (7) West Virginia, (8) Providence 9–16 Seeding and First Round Matchups: (16) DePaul def. (9) Cincinnati (10) Notre Dame def. (15) Rutgers (11) Seton Hall def. (14) South Florida (13) St. John's def. (12) Georgetown Second Round Matchups: (5) Marquette def. (13) St. John's (6) Syracuse def. (11) Seton Hall (7) West Virginia def. (10) Notre Dame (8) Providence def. (16) DePaul Quarterfinals Matchups: (1) Louisville def. (8) Providence (7) West Virginia def. (2) Pittsburgh (6) Syracuse def. (3) Connecticut (6 OT) (4) Villanova def. (5) Marquette Semifinals Matchups: (1) Louisville def. (4) Villanova (6) Syracuse def. (7) West Virginia (OT) Championship Game: (1) Louisville def. (6) Syracuse, 76–66 The most notable game of the tournament was the third round matchup between Connecticut and Syracuse. A back-and-forth thriller between two rivals, this game lasted nearly four hours and finally ended after six overtimes, at 1:22 a.m. the following day.http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=200903120129 College Basketball – Syracuse Orange/Connecticut Huskies Box Score March 30, 2009 March 12, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090406235157/http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=200903120129 6 April 2009 live The game was tied at 71–71 with a second left in regulation, when Syracuse inbounded a pass the full length of the court. Guard, Eric Devendorf, sunk a 3-point shot as the clock appeared to run out, seemingly giving Syracuse the game. After a thorough review by officials using frame-by-frame slow motion, it became apparent that the ball was not completely off of Devendorf's fingertips as the clock changed from 0.1 to 0.0 seconds. The game headed to overtime. During overtime, UConn took a lead and maintained it, until Syracuse finally tied the score to force another overtime. This pattern continued for five overtimes, where in each one, UConn took and maintained a lead, only to have Syracuse tie the score before time ran out. In the sixth and final overtime, Syracuse came out and took a large lead (their first since regulation) that eventually proved insurmountable for UConn, and won the game, 127–117. The game produced a few records when it came to duration, including longest Big East game in history. A.J. Price of Connecticut, and Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf of Syracuse, each played over 60 minutes, with another three Connecticut players and one Syracuse player playing over 50 minutes. Between the two teams, nine players had double-figure point totals, and five UConn players had double-figure rebound totals. With over 100 points scored in the overtime periods alone, this game was dubbed an "Instant Classic" and was given the title "The Game That Wouldn't End." In the following round, Syracuse again found itself in overtime, this time against West Virginia. Syracuse came out the winner, but would lose the following night to Louisville. This was Louisville's first Big East tournament championship. Jonny Flynn was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming only the 4th player in the 30 year history of the tournament to win the award while playing on the losing team.http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/03/14/2009-03-14_jonny_flynn_gets_big_east_mvp_nod.html Jonny Flynn gets Big East MVP nod March 30, 2009 March 15, 2009 New York Daily News Matt Gagne https://web.archive.org/web/20090319003342/http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/03/14/2009-03-14_jonny_flynn_gets_big_east_mvp_nod.html 19 March 2009 live NCAA tournament 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The Big East posted a very strong showing in the NCAA tournament. Though Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Providence were unable to secure at-large bids, seven conference teams were selected. The Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference also sent seven teams each, which was one short of the record of eight that the Big East sent in 2006 and 2008. The conference set a record by earning three #1 seeds among the four available. Connecticut, Louisville, and Pittsburgh were all the top seeds in their regions, with North Carolina being the fourth. The conference set another record by having five teams make it to the Sweet-16, and then an additional record by having four teams make it to the Elite Eight. Connecticut and Villanova each advanced to the Final Four. This was Villanova's fourth Final Four appearance (though one was vacated for violations) and first since 1985. This was UConn's third Final Four appearance, with all coming since 1999, and all happening to come from the West region. The conference finished with a combined record of 17–7. Seed Region School First Round Second Round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship 1 West Connecticut #16 Chattanooga, W, 103–47 #9 Texas A&M, W, 92–66 #5 Purdue, W, 72–60 #3 Missouri, W, 82–75 #2 Michigan State, L, 73–82   3 East Villanova #14 American, W, 80–67 #6 UCLA, W, 89–69 #2 Duke, W, 77–54 #1 Pittsburgh, W, 78–76 #1 North Carolina, L, 69–83   1 East Pittsburgh #16 East Tennessee State, W, 72–62 #8 Oklahoma State, W, 84–76 #4 Xavier, W, 60–55 #3 Villanova, L, 76–78     1 MIdwest Louisville #16 Morehead State, W, 74–54 #8 Siena, W, 79–72 #12 Arizona, W, 103–64 #2 Michigan State, L, 52–64     3 South Syracuse #14 Stephen F. Austin, W, 59–44 #6 Arizona State, W, 78–67 #2 Oklahoma, L, 71–84       6 West Marquette #11 Utah State, W, 58–57 #3 Missouri, L, 79–83         6 Midwest West Virginia #11 Dayton, L, 60–68           7 BidsW-L (%):6–1 (.857)5–1 (.833)4–1 (.800)2–2 (.500)0–2 (.000)TOTAL: 17–7 (.708) National Invitation Tournament 2009 National Invitation Tournament In the 72nd annual National Invitation Tournament, there were three Big East teams among the field of 32: Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Providence. Notre Dame received a 2-seed in its region. They won their first round game against 7-seed UAB, 70–64. They beat 3-seed New Mexico in the second round, 70–68. They beat Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 77–67, and lost to 2-seed Penn State in the semifinals, 67–59. Providence received a 5-seed in a different region. They lost their first round game to 4-seed Miami (FL), 78–66. Georgetown received a 6-seed in a third region. They lost their first round game to 3-seed Baylor, 74–72. College Basketball Invitational 2009 College Basketball Invitational In the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, the lone Big East representative was St. John's. The team earned a 4-seed in the East region, and lost their opening round game to top-seeded Richmond 75–69. Awards and honors The following players were honored with postseason awards after having been voted for by Big East Conference coaches. Harangody, Young Repeat On All-BIG EAST First Team https://web.archive.org/web/20090312003511/http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92555&SPID=11228&DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=3687582 2009-03-12 March 8, 2009 Co-Players of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr. DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So. Defensive Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr. Rookie of the Year: Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, Fr. Most Improved Player: Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr. Sixth Man Award: Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, So. Sportsmanship Award: Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr. Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr. Coach of the Year: Jay Wright, Villanova (8th season) All-Big East First Team: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr., 7–3, 263, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Terrence Williams, Louisville, F, Sr., 6–6, 210, Seattle, Wash. Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, Sr., 6–3, 200 Chicago, Ill. Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6–8, 251, Schererville, Ind. DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So., 6–7, 265, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., 6–6, 215, Clinton, Md. All-Big East Second Team: A.J. Price, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6–2, 181, Amityville, N.Y. Wesley Matthews, Marquette, G, Sr., 6–5, 215, Madison, Wis. Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, G, So., 6–0, 185, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr., 6–8, 230, Silver Spring, Md. Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6–7, 225, Newark, N.J. All-Big East Third Team: Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G, Jr., 6–1, 195, Indianapolis, Ind. Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, Sr., 6–7, 243, Brookline, Mass. Earl Clark, Louisville, G/F, Jr., 6–8, 220, Rahway, N.J. Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 5–10, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y. Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, So., 6–5, 185, Bronx, N.Y. Big East Honorable Mention: Weyinmi Efejuku, Providence, G, Sr., 6–5, 210, Fresh Meadows, N.Y. Dominique Jones, USF, G, So., 6–4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla. Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Jr., 6–2, 195, Herndon, Va. Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr., 6–6, 220, Spring Hill, Fla. Big East All-Rookie Team: Yancy Gates, Cincinnati, F, Fr., 6–9, 255, Cincinnati, Ohio Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6–0, 175, Bronx, N.Y. Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, Fr., 6–10, 240, Gretna, La. Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, Fr., 6–8, 240, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica Mike Rosario, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6–3, 180, Jersey City, N.J. Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, Fr., 6–9, 205, Long Island City, N.Y. The following players were selected to the 2009 Associated Press All-America teams. 2009 AP All-America Teams https://web.archive.org/web/20121010062208/http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11569784 2012-10-10 March 30, 2009 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans First Team All-America: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 15.6 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 59.9 FG%, 1.5 steals (49 1st place votes, 294 points) Second Team All-America: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, Key Stats: 13.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 4.6 blocks, 64.3 FG% (19, 238) Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.1 apg (6, 135) Jerel McNeal, Marquette, Key Stats: 19.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 40.6 3-pt FG% (7, 114) Third Team All-America: Terrence Williams, Louisville, Key Stats: 12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 2.5 steals (4, 103) Sam Young, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 18.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg (1, 79) See also 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2008–09 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team 2008–09 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team 2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2008–09 Providence Friars men's basketball team 2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team 2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team 2008–09 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team References