2008–09 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

2008–09 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
Paradise Jam Tournament Champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Final Four
Conference Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches #3
AP #5
2008–09 record 31–5 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach Jim Calhoun
Assistant coach George Blaney
Assistant coach Andre LaFleur
Assistant coach Patrick Sellers
Home arena Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
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 2008–2009 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 finished the regular season with an overall record of 27–3, including a Big East Conference record of 15–3. The team finished the regular season tied for second place in the Big East standings (a tiebreaker gave them the #3 seed in the Big East tournament). In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies received a #1 seed in the West Region and advanced to their 3rd Final Four. In the Final Four they would lose to Michigan State 82–73.

Contents

Roster

Listed are the student athletes who are members of the 2008–2009 team.[2]

# 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

Listed are recruits for the upcoming season.

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Scottie Haralson
SG		 Jackson, MS Provine HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 190 lb (86 kg) Jan 25,
2008 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 40
Nate Miles
SG		 Patterson, NC The Patterson School 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 170 lb (77 kg) Nov 20,
2006 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 88
Kemba Walker
PG		 New York, NY Rice HS 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 172 lb (78 kg) Jun 9,
2007 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 7   Rivals: 8
Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance Record
Regular season
2008/11/14* Western Carolina #2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 81–55  9,820 1–0
2008/11/17* Hartford #2 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 99–56  11,849 2–0
2008/11/21* vs. La Salle #2 University of the Virgin Islands • US Virgin Islands
(US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam)		 W 89–81  3,095 3–0
2008/11/23* vs. #16 Miami #2 University of the Virgin Islands • US Virgin Islands
(US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam)		 W 76–63  3,271 4–0
2008/11/24* vs. #19 Wisconsin #2 University of the Virgin Islands • US Virgin Islands
(US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam)		 W 76–57  3,691 5–0
2008/11/29* Bryant #2 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 88–58  12,558 6–0
2008/12/1* Delaware State #2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 79–49  9,734 7–0
2008/12/04* at Buffalo #2 Alumni Arena • Buffalo, NY W 68–64  4,899 8–0
2008/12/15* Stony Brook #2 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 91–57  12,721 9–0
2008/12/20* at #7 Gonzaga #2 Key Arena • Seattle, WA
(Battle in Seattle)		 W 88–83  16,763 10–0
2008/12/26* Fairfield #2 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 75–55  13,771 11–0
2008/12/29 #8 Georgetown #2 XL Center • Hartford, CT L 63–74  16,294 11–1 (0–1)
2009/1/3 Rutgers #2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 80–49  10,167 12–1 (1–1)
2009/1/6 at #22 West Virginia #5 WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, WV W 61–55  13,920 13–1 (2–1)
2009/1/10 at Cincinnati #5 Fifth Third Arena • Cincinnati, OH W 81–72  9,029 14–1 (3–1)
2009/1/15 at St. John's #4 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY W 67–55  7,545 15–1 (4–1)
2009/1/18 Seton Hall #4 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 76–61  15,572 16–1 (5–1)
2009/1/21 #21 Villanova #3 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 89–83  15,385 17–1 (6–1)
2009/1/24 at #19 Notre Dame #3 Edmund P. Joyce Center • South Bend, IN W 69–61  11,418 18–1 (7–1)
2009/1/28 at DePaul #2 Allstate Arena • Chicago, IL W 71–49  9,502 19–1 (8–1)
2009/1/31 Providence #2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 94–61  10,167 20–1 (9–1)
2009/02/02 #7 Louisville #1 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY W 68–51  20,069 21–1 (10–1)
2009/2/7* Michigan #1 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 69–61  10,167 22–1
2009/2/11 #22 Syracuse #1 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 63–49  10,167 23–1 (11–1)
2009/2/14 at Seton Hall #1 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ W 62–54  9,800 24–1 (12–1)
2009/2/16 #4 Pittsburgh #1 XL Center • Hartford, CT L 68–76  16,294 24–2 (12–2)
2009/2/21 South Florida #1 XL Center • Hartford, CT W 64–50  15,451 25–2 (13–2)
2009/2/25 #10 Marquette #2 Bradley Center • Milwaukee, WI W 93–82  19,091 26–2 (14–2)
2009/28/09 Notre Dame #2 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT W 72–65  10,167 27–2 (15–2)
2009/3/7 at #4 Pittsburgh #1 Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, PA L 60–70  12,908 27–3 (15–3)
Big East Tournament
2009-3/12 #20 Syracuse #4 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
(Quarterfinal)		 L 117–127  19,375 27–4
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2009/3/19 vs. (16) Chattanooga #6 (1) Wachovia Center • Philadelphia, PA
(First Round)		 W 103–47  N/A 28–4
2009/3/21 vs. (9) Texas A&M #6 (1) Wachovia Center • Philadelphia, PA
(Second Round)		 W 92–66  19,894 29–4
2009/3/26 vs. #18 (5) Purdue #6 (1) University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ
(Sweet Sixteen)		 W 72–60  20,101 30–4
2009/3/28 vs. #9 (3) Missouri #6 (1) University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ
(Elite Eight)		 W 82–75  18,886 31–4
2009/4/4 vs. #7 (2) Michigan State #6 (1) Ford Field • Detroit, MI
(Final Four)		 L 73–82  72,456 31–5
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Regular season

The Huskies' season began with the team ranked #2 in the AP Poll.[3] 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 #8 Gonzaga in an overtime thriller in Seattle.[4]

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 #7 Louisville— the eventual outright Big East Champions.

The Huskies reached #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 #4 Pittsburgh knocked them from the top spot. They would win their next three games, including at #8 Marquette, which was Coach Jim Calhoun's 800th career victory in Division I basketball.[5] After one week at #2, UConn was again #1 in the polls, until a loss at #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 #1 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament. They began play in Philadelphia, PA, 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 #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.

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 Pacers

[6]

References

  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ UCONN Men's Basketball – University of Connecticut Official Athletic Site
  3. ^ College Basketball – Rankings – Rivals.com
  4. ^ No. 2 UConn rallies past No. 8 Zags in OT
  5. ^ Calhoun wins No. 800 as UConn beats Marquette
  6. ^ http://www.nba.com/draft2009/