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2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 11
Record30–8 (13–5 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThe Pavilion
Seasons
2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Louisville 16 2   .889 31 6   .838
No. 4 Pittsburgh 15 3   .833 31 5   .861
No. 5 Connecticut 15 3   .833 31 5   .861
No. 11 Villanova 13 5   .722 30 8   .789
No. 23 Marquette 12 6   .667 25 10   .714
No. 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 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by Jay Wright in his eighth year as head coach of the Wildcats. The Wildcats played their home games at The Pavilion on the school's campus as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 30–8, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the semifinals of the Big East tournament to Louisville. The Wildcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East region. They defeated American, UCLA, Duke, and Pittsburgh to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four they were defeated by the eventual national champion for the second straight year, North Carolina.

Previous season

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The Wildcats finished the 2007–08 season 22–13, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in a tie for eighth place. The Wildcats lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Georgetown. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Clemson and Siena to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they lost to the eventual national champions, Kansas.

Offseason

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Recruiting class of 2008

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Source[2][3][4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Maurice Sutton
C
Upper Marlboro, MD Largo HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 21, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 87
Overall Recruiting Rankings:     ScoutNR     RivalsNR [5]     ESPNNR 

Roster

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Villanova Basketball
2008–09 Roster
G/F 22 Dwayne Anderson SR Washington, D.C. (St. Thomas More)
F 20 Shane Clark SR Philadelphia, PA (Hargrave Military Academy)
G 4 Jason Colenda SO Fairfax, VA (Bishop O'Connell)
F 33 Dante Cunningham SR Silver Spring, MD (Potomac)
G 10 Corey Fisher SO The Bronx, New York City (St. Patrick's, NJ)
C 3 Maurice Sutton FR Upper Marlboro, MD (Largo HS, MD)
F 0 Antonio Pena SO Brooklyn, New York City (St. Thomas More)
G 15 Reggie Redding JR Philadelphia, PA (St. Joseph's Prep)
G 1 Scottie Reynolds JR Herndon, VA (Herndon)
G 24 Corey Stokes SO Bayonne, NJ (St. Benedict's)
F 42 Frank Tchuisi SR Douala, Cameroon (St. Benedict's)
F 23 Russell Wooten JR Chula Vista, CA (St. Augustine)

Season

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Before the season began, on October 22, 2008, the Wildcats were selected to finish fifth among the 16 Big East Conference teams in the annual preseason coaches' poll at Madison Square Garden.[6] As part of recent tradition, the 2008 Hoopsmania (an on-campus kickoff of the Villanova Basketball season), included a performance by hip-hop artist T-Pain. Previous artists have included 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and MIMS.[7]

The Villanova-Pitt game on January 28, 2009 was the last game to be held at the Wachovia Spectrum which drew a crowd of 17,449.[8] The Wildcats finished perfect the year at the Pavilion. Villanova's 25 regular-season wins tied a school record. It had been done three times before, but not since 1950–51.

During the 2009 Big East Awards Ceremony, head coach Jay Wright was named the 2009 Big East Coach of the Year. He won the award twice in the previous four years. Villanova senior forward Dante Cunningham was named the Big East's Most Improved Player, and sophomore guard Corey Fisher won the Sixth Man Award. Cunningham, a senior forward, won second-team honors on the all-Big East team, while junior guard Scottie Reynolds took honorable mention.[9]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 6, 2008*
No. 25 Northwood W 75–37 
Wachovia Spectrum 
Philadelphia, PA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 14, 2008*
No. 25 Albany W 78–60  1–0
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Nov 17, 2008*
No. 23 Fordham W 107–68  2–0
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Nov 19, 2008*
 ESPNU
No. 23 Niagara W 77–62  3–0
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Nov 25, 2008*
No. 22 Monmouth
Philly Hoop Group Classic
W 71–48  4–0
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Nov 28, 2008*
No. 22 Towson
Philly Hoop Group Classic
W 64–47  5–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 29, 2008*
No. 22 Rhode Island
Philly Hoop Group Classic
W 78–65  6–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 2, 2008*
No. 16 at Penn
Big 5
W 69–47  7–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 4, 2008*
No. 16 Houston Baptist W 93–57  8–0
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Dec 9, 2008*
 ESPN
No. 12 vs. No. 6 Texas
Jimmy V Classic
L 58–67  8–1
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
Dec 11, 2008*
No. 12 Saint Joseph's
Big 5
W 59–56  9–1
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Dec 11, 2008*
No. 12 at La Salle
Big 5
W 70–59  10–1
Tom Gola Arena 
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 22, 2008*
No. 16 Navy W 78–68  11–1
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Dec 29, 2008*
 ESPNU
No. 13 Temple
Big 5
W 62–45  12–1
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Big East regular season
Jan 1, 2009
 ESPN
No. 13 at No. 13 Marquette W 79–72  12–2
(0–1)
Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, WI
Jan 6, 2009
 WPHL
No. 17 at Seton Hall W 89–85 OT 13–2
(1–1)
Prudential Center 
Newark, NJ
Jan 10, 2009
 ESPN
No. 17 No. 21 Louisville L 60–61  13–3
(1–2)
Wachovia Center 
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 18
 WPHL
No. 22 St. John's W 76–57  14–3
(2–2)
The Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Jan 21, 2009
 ESPN
No. 21 at No. 3 Connecticut L 83–89  14–4
(2–3)
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Hartford, CT
Jan 24
 WPHL
No. 21 at South Florida W 70–61  15–4
(3–3)
USF Sun Dome 
Tampa, FL
Jan 28, 2009
 ESPNU
No. 21 at No. 3 Pittsburgh W 67–57  16–4
(4–3)
Wachovia Spectrum 
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 1, 2009
 WPHL
No. 21 Cincinnati W 71–50  17–4
(5–3)
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Feb 4, 2009
 WPHL
No. 16 at Providence W 94–91  18–4
(6–3)
Dunkin' Donuts Center 
Providence, RI
Feb 7, 2009
 ESPN
No. 16 No. 20 Syracuse W 102–85  19–4
(7–3)
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Feb 10, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 13 No. 12 Marquette W 102–84  20–4
(8–3)
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Feb 13, 2009
 ESPN
No. 13 at West Virginia L 72–93  20–5
(8–4)
WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
Feb 19
 ESPN2
No. 14 Rutgers W 82–72  21–5
(9–4)
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Feb 22
 CBS
No. 14 at No. 25 Syracuse W 89–86  22–5
(10–4)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
Feb 25, 2009
 WPHL
No. 12 at DePaul W 74–72  23–5
(11–4)
Allstate Arena 
Rosemont, IL
Feb 28, 2009
 ESPN
No. 12 Georgetown L 54–56  23–6
(11–5)
Wachovia Center 
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 2, 2009
 ESPN
No. 16 at Notre Dame W 77–60  24–6
(12–5)
Joyce Center 
South Bend, IN
Mar 5, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 16 Providence W 97–80  25–6
(13–5)
The Pavilion 
Vilanova, PA
Big East tournament
Mar 12, 2009
(4) No. 13 vs. (5) No. 21 Marquette
Quarterfinals
W 76–75  26–6
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
Mar 13, 2009
(4) No. 13 vs. (1) No. 5 Louisville
Semifinals
L 63–82  26–7
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 19, 2008*
(3E) No. 12 vs. (14E) American
First Round
W 80–67  27–7
Wachovia Center 
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 21, 2009*
(3E) No. 12 vs. (6E) No. 17 UCLA
Second Round
W 89–69  28–7
Wachovia Center 
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 26, 2009*
(3E) No. 12 vs. (2E) No. 5 Duke
Sweet Sixteen
W 77–54  29–7
TD Banknorth Garden 
Boston, MA
Mar 28, 2009*
(3E) No. 12 vs. (1E) No. 4 Pittsburgh
Elite Eight
W 78–76  30–7
TD Banknorth Garden 
Boston, MA
Apr 4, 2009*
(3E) No. 12 vs. (1W) No. 2 North Carolina
Final Four
L 69–83  30–8
Ford Field 
Detroit, MI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP232320171518181518232021171312101110Not released
Coaches2523221612151613172221211613141216134

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.

References

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  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ Villanova Class of 2008 – Rivals
  3. ^ Villanova Class of 2008 – Scout
  4. ^ Villanova Class of 2008 – ESPN
  5. ^ "2008 Team Recruiting Rankings – Rivals". Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  6. ^ "Villanova Selected Fifth in BIG EAST Pre-Season Coaches Poll". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Hoopsmania Kickoff
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/homepage/20090310_Villanovas_Jay_Wright_named_Big_East_Coach_of_the_Year.html Jay Wright Big East Coach of the Year . Accessed 2009-03-12. Archived 2009-06-06.