2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
| 2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big East Conference (1979–2013) |
| 2008–09 record | 30–8 (13–5 Big East) |
| Head coach | Jay Wright |
| Assistant coach | Pat Chambers |
| Assistant coach | Doug West |
| Assistant coach | Jason Donnelly |
| Home arena | The Pavilion |
| 2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 |
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The Villanova Wildcats had a 30–8 (13–5) record in the 2009 season. Their season resulted in a trip to the Final Four, with their last second win over the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Elite 8. For the 2008–09 season, Villanova returned all but one from their entire roster that made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. That squad with no seniors, lost 6 of 7 games during a 3-week span in the middle of the season, but came back to make the NCAA tournament.
The 2008–09 schedule includes playing Texas in the Jimmy V. Classic, 18 Big East contests, competing in the Philly Hoops Group Classic (against Niagara, Monmouth, Towson and either Penn State or Rhode Island), and games against a trip to Albany, Fordham, Houston Baptist, & Navy.
On December 1, 2008, Cassiem Drummond announced his intention to transfer out of the Villanova basketball team.
Before the season began, on October 22, 2008, the Wildcats were selected to finish 5th among the 16 Big East Conference teams in the annual Preseason Coaches Poll at Madison Square Garden. Nova returned all five starters from a 22–13 squad that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 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.
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.
The Wildcats finished perfect this 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 has won the award twice during the past 4 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. All-Big East. Cunningham, a senior forward, won second-team honors on the all-Big East team, while junior guard Scottie Reynolds took honorable mention.
The 2009 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, will take place in March 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is the first Big East tournament to include all 16 of the conference's teams. Villanova was able to clinch the 4th spot in the Big East, thus earning the double-bye to the quarterfinals in the tournament.
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