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 (1979–2013)
Ranking
Coaches	#3
AP	#5
2008–09 record	31–5 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Calhoun (23rd year)
Assistant coach	George Blaney
Assistant coach	Andre LaFleur
Assistant coach	Patrick Sellers
Home arena	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion

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; 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 No. 3 seed in the Big East tournament). In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies received a No. 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.

Roster

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

#	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	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Scottie Haralson SG	Jackson, MS	Provine HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 25, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Nate Miles SG	Patterson, NC	The Patterson School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 20, 2006
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 88
Kemba Walker PG	New York, NY	Rice HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Jun 9, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 7   Rivals: 8
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Schedule

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

Regular season

The Huskies' season began with the team ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll. 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.

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. 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, 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 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.

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