The 2008–09 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in the

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

season of 2008–09. The team's

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

was

Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas ...

, who was in his second and final year as coach. The Wildcats played their home games at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. The team's season started with a controversial early Midnight Madness event on October 10, 2008, which is not the traditional date for celebration that coincides with the first day of NCAA-sanctioned regular practice sessions that occurred on October 17, 2008. On March 15, 2009, the Wildcats accepted a bid to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament, ending a streak of 17 consecutive appearances in the

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...

dating back to 1992.

Roster

2008 signees

2008–09 schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-Conference Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, SEC Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, SEC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, National Invitation Tournament

Season honors and awards

All-SEC

SEC Player of the Week

SEC Freshman of the Week

Pre-Season All-SEC

Class of 2009 signees

The signees who formed the 2009-10 recruiting classes are considered one of the best all-time recruiting classes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...