2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
National Invitational Tournament, Semifinals, L, 59-67
Conference Big East Conference
2008–09 record 18–14 (8–10 Big East)
Head coach Mike Brey
Assistant coach Sean Kearney
Assistant coach Rod Balanis
Assistant coach Anthony Solomon
Home arena Edmund P. Joyce Center
Seasons
« 2007–08 2009–10 »
2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#1 Louisville† 16   2   .889     31   6   .838
#4 Pittsburgh 15   3   .833     31   5   .861
#5 Connecticut 15   3   .833     31   5   .861
#11 Villanova 13   5   .722     30   8   .789
#23 Marquette 12   6   .667     25   10   .714
#13 Syracuse 11   7   .611     28   10   .737
West Virginia 10   8   .556     23   12   .657
Providence 10   8   .556     19   14   .576
Notre Dame 8   10   .444     21   15   .583
Cincinnati 8   10   .444     18   14   .563
Seton Hall 7   11   .389     17   15   .531
Georgetown 7   11   .389     16   15   .516
St. John's 6   12   .333     16   18   .471
South Florida 4   14   .222     9   22   .290
Rutgers 2   16   .111     11   21   .344
DePaul 0   18   .000     9   24   .273
† 2009 Big East Tournament winner
As of April 4, 2009[1] • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008-09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represents the University of Notre Dame in the 2008-09 college basketball season, competing in the Big East Conference. The team is led by ninth-year head coach, Mike Brey, and plays their home games in the Edmund P. Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Contents

Preseason

Roster changes and recruiting

Notre Dame lost senior forward and team captain Rob Kurz to graduation. Freshman guard Ty Proffit left Notre Dame and transferred to another school[2] Notre Dame had two players transfer in and they will sit out this season per NCAA rules for transfer students.[3]

Notre Dame did not sign any recruits from high school for the 2008-09 class.[4]

Preseason outlook

With returning Big East Player of The Year Luke Harangody, the Irish were picked to finish fourth in the Big East conference by the Big East coach's poll.[5] Harangody was also a unanimous first-team all-Big East selection and was picked to repeat as player of the year.[5] Senior point guard Kyle McAlarney also made first-team all-Big East selection.[5] Notre Dame is also looking to keep its 37 consecutive home game win streak alive.

Notre Dame was selected as the pre-season No. 9 team in the country in the USAToday/ESPN preseason coaches poll, the program's highest ever preseason ranking in that poll.[6] The Irish also debuted at No. 9 in the AP preseason poll, the fifth time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 of that poll and its first top 10 ranking since the 1980-81 season.[7]

Regular season

Roster

Name Number Position Year Home Town
Tim Abromaitis 21 F Sophomore Farmington, CT
Tim Andree 41 F Junior Colts Neck, NJ
Ryan Ayers 42 F/G Senior Blue Bell, PA
Ben Hansbrough 22 G Junior Poplar Bluff, MO
Luke Harangody 44 F Junior Schererville, IN
Zach Hillesland 33 F Senior Toledo, OH
Tory Jackson 2 G Junior Saginaw, MI
Tom Kopko 5 G Sophomore Chicago, IL
Scott Martin 14 G Sophomore Valparaiso, IN
Kyle McAlarney 23 G Senior Staten Island, NY
Tyrone Nash 1 G/F Sophomore Queens, NY
Jonathan Peoples 20 G Junior Bellwood, IL
Carleton Scott 34 F Sophomore San Antonio, TX
Luke Zeller 40 F/C Senior Washington, IN

Source:[8]

Hansbrough and Martin are not eligible to play due to NCAA transfer rules.

Coaches

Name Position Year at
Notre Dame		 Alma Mater (Year)
Mike Brey Head coach 9th George Washington (1982)
Sean Kearney Assistant head coach 9th Scranton (1981)
Rod Balanis Assistant coach 9th Georgia Tech (1993)
Anthony Solomon Assistant coach 4th * Virginia (1987)
Martin Ingelsby Coordinator of basketball operations 4th Notre Dame (2001)

*Solomon returns to the staff for his fourth year after a previous stint from 2000-2003.

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Record
November 16, 2008* 7:30 pm USC Upstate #9 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 94–58  1–0
November 21, 2008* 10:00 pm at Loyola Marymount #8 Gersten Pavilion • Los Angeles, CA Fox Sports Primeticket W 65–54  2–0
November 24, 2008* 5:30 pm vs. Indiana #8 Lahaina Civic Center • Lahaina, HI
(Maui Invitational First Round)		 ESPN 2 W 88–50  3–0
November 25, 2008* 7:00 pm vs. #6 Texas #8 Lahaina Civic Center • Lahaina, HI
(Maui Invitational Semi-Final)		 ESPN W 81–80  4–0
November 26, 2008* 10:00 pm vs. #1 North Carolina #8 Lahaina Civic Center • Lahaina, HI
(Maui Invitational Final)		 ESPN L 87–102  4–1
November 30, 2008* 2:00 pm Furman #8 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 93–61  5–1
December 2, 2008* 7:30 pm South Dakota #7 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 102–76  6–1
December 6, 2008* 4:00 pm vs. Ohio State #7 Indianapolis, IN
(The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase)		 ESPNU L 62–67  6–2
December 13, 2008* 7:00 pm Boston University #12 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 74–67  7–2
December 20, 2008* 7:00 pm Delaware State #12 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 88–50  8–2
December 22, 2008* 7:00 pm Savannah State #8 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN W 81–49  9–2
December 31, 2008 8:00 pm at DePaul #7 Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL ESPN 2 W 92–82  10–2 (1–0)
January 3, 2009 2:00 pm at St. John's #7 Madison Square Garden • New York City ESPNU L 65–71  10–3 (1–1)
January 5, 2009 7:00 pm #10 Georgetown #13 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN W 73–67  11–3 (2–1)
January 10, 2009 2:00 pm Seton Hall #13 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN Big East Network W 88–79  12–3 (3–1)
January 12, 2009 7:00 pm at #20 Louisville #12 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN L 87–73  12–4 (3–2)
January 17, 2009 12:00 pm at #8 Syracuse #12 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPN L 93–74  12–5 (3–3)
January 24, 2009 7:00 pm #3 Connecticut #19 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN L 69–61  12–6 (3–4)
January 26, 2009 7:00 pm #8 Marquette Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN L 71–64  12–7 (3–5)
January 31, 2009 12:00 pm at #3 Pittsburgh Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, PA ESPN L 93–80  12–8 (3–6)
February 4, 2009 12:00 pm at Cincinnati Fifth Third Arena • Cincinnati, OH Big East Network L 93–83  12–9 (3–7)
February 7, 2009* 1:00 pm at #15 UCLA Pauley Pavilion • Los Angeles, CA CBS L 89–63  12–10 (3–7)
February 12, 2009 7:00 pm #5 Louisville Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN W 90–57  13–10 (4–7)
February 15, 2009 2:00 pm South Florida Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN Big East Network W 67–57  14–10 (5–7)
February 18, 2009 7:00 pm at West Virginia WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, WV ESPN2 L 79–68  14–11 (5–8)
February 21, 2009 12:00 pm at Providence Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI Big East Network W 103–84  15–11 (6–8)
February 25, 2009 7:00 pm Rutgers Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPNU W 70–65  16–11 (7–8)
February 28, 2009 4:00 pm at #2 Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT CBS L 72–65  16–12 (7–9)
March 2, 2009 7:00 pm #11 Villanova Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN L 77-60  16–13 (7–10)
March 6, 2009 7:00 pm St. John's Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN Big East Network W 74-55  17–13 (8–10)
Big East Tournament
March 10, 2009 TBA vs. Rutgers Madison Square Garden • New York City W 61-50  18–13
March 11, 2009 7:00 pm vs. West Virginia Madison Square Garden • New York City ESPN L 74-62  18–14
2009 NIT Tournament
March 17, 2009* 9:00 pm UAB Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN W 70-64  19–14
March 19, 2009* 7:00 pm New Mexico Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN W 70-68  20–14
March 25, 2009* 7:00 pm Kentucky Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN ESPN W 77-67  21–14
March 31, 2009* 9:00 pm vs. Penn State Madison Square Garden • New York City
(NIT Final Four)		 ESPN L 59-67  21-15
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Rankings

Poll 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 18 Wk 19 Final
AP 9 8 8 7 12 12 8 7 13
Coaches 9 9 8 7 13 14 11 10 13

References

  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ "Ty Proffitt Leaves Notre Dame Basketball Program". und.com. 2008-08-28. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/082808aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  3. ^ "Ben Hansbrough And Scott Martin Join Irish Basketball Program". University of Notre Dame Athletic Department. 2008-06-17. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061708aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-10-23. 
  4. ^ "Notre Dame Men's Basketball Recruiting". scout.com. http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=9&c=8&cfg=bb&yr=2008. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  5. ^ a b c "Notre Dame Projected To Finish Fourth In Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll". und.com. 2008-10-22. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102208aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  6. ^ "Irish Debut At No. 9 In USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll". und.com. 2008-10-30. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/103008aaf.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  7. ^ "Fighting Irish Ranked Ninth In AP Preseason Poll". und.com. 2008-10-31. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/103108aab.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  8. ^ "2008-09 Notre Dame Men's Basketball Roster." und.com. Retrieved on November 19, 2008.
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