The 2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders men's basketball team represented

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

during the

2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2008, and ended with the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 6, 2009, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The season saw six ...

. The team plays in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

at the

United Spirit Arena United Supermarkets Arena (previously the United Spirit Arena) is a multipurpose arena on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The 15,098-seat arena opened in 1999 and is home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball, Texas Te ...

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. The season marked

Pat Knight Patrick Clair Knight (born September 21, 1970) is an American basketball coach. It was announced he had been hired as the men's coach at Marian University in Indianapolis on May 8, 2024. Prior to that he was a scout for the Indiana Pacers of t ...

's first full season as head coach.

Preseason

Personnel changes

Pat Knight took over the head coaching duties late in the 2007–08 season after

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

resigned on February 4, 2008. This was Pat's first full season as head coach of the Red Raiders. Pat hired Bubba Jennings as an assistant coach in addition to Chris Beard and Stew Robinson.

Recruiting

: In January 2009, Tyree Graham announced he would be leaving the team, citing family reasons.

Schedule

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Source for regular season
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Source for Big 12 Tournament

Notable games and events

East Central

In the third game of the season, Texas Tech defeated Division II opponent East Central 167–115, setting a new school record for most points scored in a game. The previous record of 128 was set in the double overtime victory over Texas on February 20, 1994. The combined total of 282 points also became a new record.

Wichita State

Texas Tech led the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference (T ...

43–26 going into halftime. The lead quickly deteriorated as Wichita State went on a 12–3 run to open the second half. The Shockers eventually tied the game with about 41 seconds remaining.

Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), nicknamed "Samurai Mike", is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foo ...

then hit a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to give the Red Raiders the win, 72–69.

Nebraska

In a 69–82 loss to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Knight ran onto the court to argue with officials after Texas Tech player Alan Voskuil was called for a foul. After receiving two technical fouls, Knight was ejected from the game. Once in the tunnel, Knight ran back onto the court to continue arguing. Knight was not suspended, rather receiving a public reprimand from the

Texas

The Red Raiders were without head coach Pat Knight against

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

after he was suspended for criticizing the officials in a game four days earlier against

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 ...

Kansas

Texas Tech upset #9

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

84–65 at home on senior night. Senior Alan Voskuil had a career high 35 points, going 9–14 from 3-point range and 10–17 overall. It was Kansas' worst defeat of the season and marked their third straight loss at the

Big 12 Tournament

The only chance the Red Raiders had at making the postseason was to win the Big 12 tournament where the winner receives an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. Texas Tech went into the tournament as the #11 seed after losing to

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

76–78 in the last game of the regular season, thus giving Iowa State the #10 seed.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M took a 29–48 lead into halftime and built it up to 21 early in the second half. In the second half, sophomore Mike Singletary scored 29 points in a row to help Texas Tech take a 79–78 lead with 39.4 seconds left in the game and eventually win 88–83. Singletary finished the game with 43 points, a career high and Big 12 tournament record for most points in a single game. Mike Singletary's 29 consecutive points is the second longest streak in NCAA history and Texas Tech's comeback from 21 points down is a Big 12 Tournament record.

Missouri

Texas Tech was able to manage a 31–31 halftime tie against #3 seed

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 second half, however, Missouri's

full-court press A full-court press is a basketball term for a defensive style in which the defense applies pressure to the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass. Pressure may be applied man-to-man, or via a zone press us ...

defense allowed the Tigers to go on a 13 point run early in the second half. Mike Singletary led Texas Tech with 17 points and Missouri's

DeMarre Carroll DeMarre LaEdrick Carroll (born July 27, 1986) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected as the 27th overall p ...

had 19 to help Missouri win 81–60.

Awards and honors

;Esmir Rizvic *Academic All-Big 12 First Team ;John Roberson *All-Big 12 Honorable Mention *

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

All-District 7 Team ;

*Academic All-Big 12 Second Team *Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team ; Alan Voskuil *All-Big 12 Honorable Mention

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball seasons