2008–09 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 January 2013 Basketball 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies Connecticut Huskies wordmark.svg 250 Big East Conference Big East 3 5 31–5 15–3 Jim Calhoun 23rd George Blaney Andre LaFleur Patrick Sellers Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Paradise Jam tournament champions NCAA tournament Final Four The 2008–2009 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2008–2009 NCAA Division I basketball season. Coached by Jim Calhoun, the Huskies played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference. The Huskies finished the season 31–5, 15–3 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. UConn lost to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament 127–117 in six overtimes. In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies received a No. 1 seed in the West Region and advanced to their third Final Four with wins over Chattanooga, Texas A&M, No. 17 Purdue, and No. 9 Missouri. In the Final Four at Ford Field, UConn lost to No. 8 Michigan State 82–73 Roster Listed are the student athletes who are members of the 2008–2009 team.http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/conn-m-baskbl-mtt.html UCONN Men's Basketball – University of Connecticut Official Athletic Site March 29, 2009 August 18, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110818233942/http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/conn-m-baskbl-mtt.html dead # Name Position Year 4 Jeff Adrien Forward Sr 24 Craig Austrie Guard Sr 55 Kyle Bailey Guard So 2 Donnell Beverly Guard So 10 Johnnie Bird Guard Sr 11 Jerome Dyson Guard Jr 33 Gavin Edwards Forward/Center Jr 30 Scottie Haralson Guard Fr 13 Alex Hornat Forward Jr 45 John Linder Forward Sr 32 Jonathan Mandeldove Center Jr 35 Charles Okwandu Center So 12 A. J. Price Guard Sr 21 Stanley Robinson Forward So 34 Hasheem Thabeet Center Jr 40 Jim Veronick Forward Sr 15 Kemba Walker Guard Fr 2008 recruiting class no no 2008 Scottie Haralson SG Jackson, MS Provine HS 6 4 190 January 25, 2008 3 3 40 Nate Miles SG Patterson, NC The Patterson School 6 6 170 November 20, 2006 4 4 88 Kemba Walker PG New York, NY Rice HS 6 1 172 June 9, 2007 5 5 96 2008 Connecticut Basketball Commitments 2008 Connecticut Basketball Commits ESPN connecticut 342 41 7 8 2009-03-30 yes Regular season The Huskies' season began with the team ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll. College Basketball – Rankings – Rivals.com behind the University of North Carolina. Off to a quick start, UConn opened with a string of eleven straight victories over non-conference opponents, including a sweep of the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. During this stretch, the Huskies faced three teams that were ranked in the Top 25, including No. 8 Gonzaga in an overtime thriller in Seattle. No. 2 UConn rallies past No. 8 Zags in OT The first Big East Conference game of the season came at home against Georgetown, which the Huskies lost 74–63. This was the start of a 19-game stretch where 18 of the games were against conference opponents, and where their opponents were ranked in nine of the games. After this first loss, the Huskies went on to win 13 straight, staying comfortably atop the Big East Conference standings. Among these was a 68–51 victory at No. 7 Louisville— the eventual outright Big East Champions. The Huskies reached No. 1 in the rankings on February 2, 2009, and held it for three weeks. During this span junior guard Jerome Dyson, one of the team's biggest scoring threats and its best guard defender, injured his knee. He would not be able to play for the rest of the season. The team spent the final few weeks of the regular season adjusting to their smaller rotation. A 76–68 loss at home to No. 4 Pittsburgh knocked them from the top spot. They would win their next three games, including at No. 8 Marquette, which was Coach Jim Calhoun's 800th career victory in Division I basketball. Calhoun wins No. 800 as UConn beats Marquette After one week at No. 2, UConn was again No. 1 in the polls, until a loss at No. 3 Pittsburgh to finish the regular season once again bumped the Huskies from the top. The Huskies finished the regular season with 27 wins and 3 losses, with a conference record of 15–3. The team was not ranked out of the top 5 in the AP Poll at any point in the season. Post-season In the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, UConn took on Syracuse. The game would prove to be a historic event, as it took a Big East record six overtimes before Syracuse ultimately triumphed, 127–117. The contest is tied as the second longest in NCAA Division I history. The Huskies earned the No. 1 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament. They began play in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they had two blowout victories against Chattanooga and Texas A&M. They moved on to Glendale, AZ for the West regionals, first defeating Purdue 72–60, then outlasting a pressing Missouri squad in the Elite Eight, 82–75. The following weekend the Huskies were in Detroit, MI for a Final Four matchup against the Midwest's No. 2 seed, Michigan State. The game was close throughout, until the Spartans began to take control near the ten-minute mark of the second half. UConn would make one last run and cut the deficit to three late in the game, but Michigan State made key free throws and held on to win, 82–73. UConn's final record was 31 wins and 5 losses. Schedule and results yes |- !colspan=9 style=Connecticut Huskies|Exhibition 2008-11-5 83–58 yes 2 2008–09 American International College American International Yellow Jackets American International Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT 2008-11-9 82–63 yes 2 2008–09 University of Massachusetts Lowell UMass Lowell River Hawks UMass Lowell XL Center Hartford, CT |- !colspan=9 style=Connecticut Huskies| Regular season 2008-11-14 81–55 yes 2 2008–09 Western Carolina University Western Carolina Catamounts Western Carolina Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT 1–0 9,820 2008-11-17 99–56 yes 2 Hartford XL Center Hartford, CT WCTX 2–0 11,849 2008-11-21 89–81 yes yes 2 2008–09 La Salle University La Salle Explorers La Salle University of the Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam WCTX 3–0 3,095 2008-11-23 76–63 yes yes 2 Miami 17 University of the Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam FCS 4–0 3,271 2008-11-24 76–57 yes yes 2 Wisconsin 25 University of the Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam FSN 5–0 3,691 2008-11-29 88–58 yes 2 2008–09 Bryant University Bryant Bulldogs Bryant XL Center Hartford, CT WCTX 6–0 12,558 2008-12-01 79–49 yes 2 2008–09 Delaware State Delaware State Hornets Delaware State Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT WCTX 7–0 9,734 2008-12-04 68–64 yes yes 2 Buffalo Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY WCTX 8–0 4,899 2008-12-15 91–57 yes 2 2008–09 Stony Brook University Stony Brook Seawolves Stony Brook XL Center Hartford, CT WCTX 9–0 12,721 2008-12-20 88–83 yes yes 2 Gonzaga 8 KeyArena Seattle, WA Battle in Seattle CBS 10–0 16,763 2008-12-26 75–55 yes 2 2008–09 Fairfield University Fairfield Stags Fairfield XL Center Hartford, CT ESPNU 11–0 13,771 2008-12-29 63–74 2 Georgetown 11 XL Center Hartford, CT Rivalry ESPN 11–1 (0–1) 16,294 2009-01-03 80–49 2 Rutgers Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT WCTX 12–1 (1–1) 10,167 2009-01-06 61–55 yes 5 West Virginia 25 WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV ESPNU 13–1 (2–1) 13,920 2009-01-10 81–72 yes 5 Cincinnati Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH WCTX 14–1 (3–1) 9,029 2009-01-15 67–55 yes 4 St. John's Madison Square Garden New York, NY ESPN 15–1 (4–1) 7,545 2009-01-18 76–61 4 2008–09 Seton Hall University Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall XL Center Hartford, CT WCTX 16–1 (5–1) 15,572 2009-01-21 89–83 3 Villanova 20 XL Center Hartford, CT ESPN 17–1 (6–1) 15,385 2009-01-24 69–61 yes 3 Notre Dame 19 Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, IN ESPN College GameDay ESPN 18–1 (7–1) 11,418 2009-01-28 71–49 yes 2 2008–09 DePaul University DePaul Blue Demons DePaul Allstate Arena Chicago, IL WCTX 19–1 (8–1) 9,502 2009-01-31 94–61 2 Providence Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT WCTX 20–1 (9–1) 10,167 2009-02-02 68–51 1 yes Louisville 5 Freedom Hall Louisville, KY ESPN 21–1 (10–1) 20,069 2009-02-07 69–61 yes 1 Michigan Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT ESPN 22–1 10,167 2009-02-11 63–49 1 Syracuse 23 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT Rivalry ESPN 23–1 (11–1) 10,167 2009-02-14 62–54 yes 1 2008–09 Seton Hall University Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall Prudential Center Newark, NJ WCTX 24–1 (12–1) 9,800 2009-02-16 68–76 1 Pittsburgh 4 XL Center Hartford, CT ESPN 24–2 (12–2) 16,294 2009-02-21 64–50 1 South Florida XL Center Hartford, CT WCTX 25–2 (13–2) 15,451 2009-02-25 93–82 2 yes Marquette 8 Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI ESPN 26–2 (14–2) 19,091 2009-02-28 72–65 2 Notre Dame Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT CBS 27–2 (15–2) 10,167 2009-03-07 60–70 yes 1 Pittsburgh 3 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh, PA CBS 27–3 (15–3) 12,908 |- !colspan=9 style=UConn Huskies|Big East tournament 2009-03-12 117–127 3 3 Syracuse 18 6 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Quarterfinal/Rivalry ESPN 27–4 6OT 19,375 |- !colspan=9 style=UConn Huskies|NCAA tournament 2009-03-19 yes 5 1 W Chattanooga 16 W Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA First Round CBS 103–47 28–4 18,322 2009-03-21 yes 5 1 W Texas A&M 9 W Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA Second Round CBS 92–66 29–4 19,894 2009-03-26 yes 5 1 W Purdue 17 5 W University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ Sweet Sixteen CBS 72–60 30–4 20,101 2009-03-28 yes 5 1 W Missouri 9 3 W University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ Elite Eight CBS 82–75 31–4 18,886 2009-04-04 yes 5 1 W Michigan State 8 2 MW Ford Field Detroit, MI Final Four CBS 73–82 31–5 72,456 Rankings 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 18 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 4 3 2 (6) 1 (64) 1 (67) 1 (66) 2 (1) 1 (67) 3 5 (1) Coaches 0 19 2 2 (1) 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 4 3 2 (1) 1 (28) 1 (30) 1 (30) 2 (1) 1 (27) 4 6 3 Postseason awards Second Team All-America: Hasheem Thabeet, Center, Jr. National Defensive Player of the Year Hasheem Thabeet Big East Co-Players of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet with DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Center, So. Big East Defensive Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet All-Big East First Team: Hasheem Thabeet All-Big East Second Team: A.J. Price, Guard, Sr. All-Big East Third Team: Jeff Adrien, Forward, Sr. Big East All-Rookie Team: Kemba Walker, Guard, Fr. Team players drafted into the NBA Round Pick Player NBA Club 1 2 Hasheem Thabeet Memphis Grizzlies 2 52 A.J. Price Indiana Pacershttp://www.nba.com/draft2009/ NBA.com: DRAFT 2009 NBA.com July 20, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20120125043428/http://www.nba.com/draft2009/ January 25, 2012 dead References Category:UConn Huskies men's basketball seasons Connecticut Huskies Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Connecticut Category:2008 in sports in Connecticut Category:2009 in sports in Connecticut