The 2008–2009 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in the 2008–2009

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

basketball season. Coached by

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( ...

, the Huskies played their home games at the

XL Center The PeoplesBank Arena, (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center and formerly as the XL Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the qu ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and on campus at the

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,299-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut (UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England ...

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs ( ) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, ...

. The Huskies were members of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. The Huskies finished the season 31–5, 15–3 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. UConn lost to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament 127–117 in six overtimes. In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies received a No. 1 seed in the West Region and advanced to their third Final Four with wins over

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, No. 17

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and No. 9

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. In the Final Four at

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

, UConn lost to No. 8

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

82–73

Roster

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

2008 recruiting class

Regular season

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

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. 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 The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is an NCAA college basketball tournament that takes place annually in late November. The men's tournament typically takes place the week before Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving, with the women's tou ...

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 Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. 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 Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

— 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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. 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, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where they had two blowout victories against Chattanooga and Texas A&M. They moved on to

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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 Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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.

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big East tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

Postseason awards

Second Team All-America:

Hasheem Thabeet Hasheem Thabeet (born Hashim Thabit Manka; 16 February 1987) is a Tanzanian professional basketball player who currently plays for Dar City. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being drafted second overall in the 2009 NBA ...

, Center, Jr. National Defensive Player of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet Big East Co-Players of the Year:
Hasheem Thabeet with

DeJuan Blair DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2007 to 2009. Blair entered the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected as the 37th overal ...

, 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 Jeff Adrien (born February 10, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. High school career Adrien was raise ...

, Forward, Sr. Big East All-Rookie Team:
Kemba Walker, Guard, Fr.

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Connecticut Huskies Men's Basketball Team UConn Huskies men's basketball seasons

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

2008 in sports in Connecticut 2009 in sports in Connecticut