2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
2009 NIT, Semifinals L, 59–67
ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)
Record21–15 (8–10 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaEdmund P. Joyce Center
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 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2008-09 college basketball season, competing in the Big East Conference. The team was led by ninth-year head coach, Mike Brey, and played their home games in the Edmund P. Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Preseason

Roster changes and recruiting

Notre Dame lost senior forward and team captain Rob Kurz to graduation. Freshman guard Ty Proffit left Notre Dame and transferred to another school[2] Notre Dame had two players transfer in and they will sit out this season per NCAA rules for transfer students.[3]

  • Scott Martin, a 6-8 swingman, transferred after his freshman season at Purdue. Playing mainly off the bench, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
  • Ben Hansbrough, a 6-3 guard, transferred after his sophomore season at Mississippi State, and will have two years of eligibility remaining. The younger brother of North Carolina superstar Tyler Hansbrough, he comes off a sophomore season in which he averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a regular starter.

Notre Dame did not sign any recruits from high school for the 2008-09 class.[4]

Preseason outlook

With returning Big East Player of The Year Luke Harangody, the Irish were picked to finish fourth in the Big East conference by the Big East coach's poll.[5] Harangody was also a unanimous first-team all-Big East selection and was picked to repeat as player of the year.[5] Senior point guard Kyle McAlarney also made first-team all-Big East selection.[5] Notre Dame is also looking to keep its 37 consecutive home game win streak alive.

Notre Dame was selected as the pre-season No. 9 team in the country in the USAToday/ESPN preseason coaches poll, the program's highest ever preseason ranking in that poll.[6] The Irish also debuted at No. 9 in the AP preseason poll, the fifth time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 of that poll and its first top 10 ranking since the 1980–81 season.[7]

Regular season

Roster

Name Number Position Year Home Town
Tim Abromaitis 21 F Sophomore Farmington, CT
Tim Andree 41 F Junior Colts Neck, NJ
Ryan Ayers 42 F/G Senior Blue Bell, PA
Ben Hansbrough 22 G Junior Poplar Bluff, MO
Luke Harangody 44 F Junior Schererville, IN
Zach Hillesland 33 F Senior Toledo, OH
Tory Jackson 2 G Junior Saginaw, MI
Tom Kopko 5 G Sophomore Chicago, IL
Scott Martin 14 G Sophomore Valparaiso, IN
Kyle McAlarney 23 G Senior Staten Island, NY
Tyrone Nash 1 G/F Sophomore Queens, NY
Jonathan Peoples 20 G Junior Bellwood, IL
Carleton Scott 34 F Sophomore San Antonio, TX
Luke Zeller 40 F/C Senior Washington, IN
Source:[8]

Hansbrough and Martin are not eligible to play due to NCAA transfer rules.

Coaches

Name Position Year at
Notre Dame		 Alma Mater (Year)
Mike Brey Head coach 9th George Washington (1982)
Sean Kearney Assistant head coach 9th Scranton (1981)
Rod Balanis Assistant coach 9th Georgia Tech (1993)
Anthony Solomon Assistant coach 4th * Virginia (1987)
Martin Ingelsby Coordinator of basketball operations 4th Notre Dame (2001)

*Solomon returns to the staff for his fourth year after a previous stint from 2000 to 2003.

Schedule and Results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 16, 2008*
7:30 pm 		No. 9 USC Upstate W 94–58  1–0
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,282)
Notre Dame, IN
November 21, 2008*
10:00 pm, FSN 		No. 8 at Loyola Marymount W 65–54  2–0
 Gersten Pavilion (4,534)
Los Angeles, CA
November 24, 2008*
5:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 8 vs. Indiana
Maui Invitational First Round 		W 88–50  3–0
 Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
November 25, 2008*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 8 vs. No. 6 Texas
Maui Invitational Semi-Final 		W 81–80  4–0
 Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
November 26, 2008*
10:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 8 vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Maui Invitational Final 		L 87–102  4–1
 Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
November 30, 2008*
2:00 pm 		No. 8 Furman W 93–61  5–1
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,037)
Notre Dame, IN
December 2, 2008*
7:30 pm 		No. 7 South Dakota W 102–76  6–1
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,753)
Notre Dame, IN
December 6, 2008*
4:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 7 vs. Ohio State
The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase 		L 62–67  6–2
 Lucas Oil Stadium (17,007)
Indianapolis, IN
December 13, 2008*
7:00 pm 		No. 12 Boston University W 74–67  7–2
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,515)
Notre Dame, IN
December 20, 2008*
7:00 pm 		No. 12 Delaware State W 88–50  8–2
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,350)
Notre Dame, IN
December 22, 2008*
7:00 pm 		No. 8 Savannah State W 81–49  9–2
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,260)
Notre Dame, IN
December 31, 2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 7 at DePaul W 92–82  10–2
(1–0) 		Allstate Arena (9,881)
Rosemont, IL
January 3, 2009
2:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 7 at St. John's L 65–71  10–3
(1–1) 		Madison Square Garden (9,807)
New York, NY
January 5, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 13 No. 10 Georgetown W 73–67  11–3
(2–1) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
January 10, 2009
2:00 pm, Big East Network 		No. 13 Seton Hall W 88–79  12–3
(3–1) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,079)
Notre Dame, IN
January 12, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 12 at No. 20 Louisville L 87–73  12–4
(3–2) 		Freedom Hall (19,865)
Louisville, KY
January 17, 2009
12:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 12 at No. 8 Syracuse L 93–74  12–5
(3–3) 		Carrier Dome (30,021)
Syracuse, NY
January 24, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 19 No. 3 Connecticut
ESPN College GameDay 		L 69–61  12–6
(3–4) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
January 26, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 8 Marquette L 71–64  12–7
(3–5) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
January 31, 2009
12:00 pm, ESPN 		at No. 3 Pittsburgh L 93–80  12–8
(3–6) 		Petersen Events Center (12,508)
Pittsburgh, PA
February 4, 2009
12:00 pm, Big East Network 		at Cincinnati L 93–83  12–9
(3–7) 		US Bank Arena (7,692)
Cincinnati, OH
February 7, 2009*
1:00 pm, CBS 		at No. 15 UCLA L 89–63  12–10
(3–7) 		Pauley Pavilion (11,492)
Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 5 Louisville W 90–57  13–10
(4–7) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
February 15, 2009
2:00 pm, Big East Network 		South Florida W 67–57  14–10
(5–7) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
February 18, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		at West Virginia L 79–68  14–11
(5–8) 		WVU Coliseum (13,126)
Morgantown, WV
February 21, 2009
12:00 pm, Big East Network 		at Providence W 103–84  15–11
(6–8) 		Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,600)
Providence, RI
February 25, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		Rutgers W 70–65  16–11
(7–8) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,203)
Notre Dame, IN
February 28, 2009
4:00 pm, CBS 		at No. 2 Connecticut L 72–65  16–12
(7–9) 		Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167)
Storrs, CT
March 2, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 11 Villanova W 77–60  16–13
(7–10) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
March 6, 2009
7:00 pm, Big East Network 		St. John's W 74–55  17–13
(8–10) 		Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,028)
Notre Dame, IN
Big East tournament
March 10, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		vs. Rutgers W 61–50  18–13
 Madison Square Garden (19,375)
New York, NY
March 11, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN 		vs. West Virginia L 74–62  18–14
 Madison Square Garden (19,375)
New York, NY
National Invitational Tournament
March 17, 2009*
9:00 pm, ESPN 		UAB W 70–64  19–14
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (2,039)
Notre Dame, IN
March 19, 2009*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		New Mexico W 70–68  20–14
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (3,013)
Notre Dame, IN
March 25, 2009*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		Kentucky W 77–67  21–14
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,636)
Notre Dame, IN
March 31, 2009*
9:00 pm, ESPN 		vs. Penn State
NIT Final Four 		L 59–67  21–15
 Madison Square Garden (11,352)
New York City
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Final
AP 9 8 8 7 12 12 8 7 13 NR
Coaches 9 9 8 7 13 14 11 10 13 NR

References

  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ "Ty Proffitt Leaves Notre Dame Basketball Program". und.com. August 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  3. ^ "Ben Hansbrough And Scott Martin Join Irish Basketball Program". University of Notre Dame Athletic Department. June 17, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
  4. ^ "Notre Dame Men's Basketball Recruiting". scout.com. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "Notre Dame Projected To Finish Fourth In Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll". und.com. October 22, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  6. ^ "Irish Debut At No. 9 In USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll". und.com. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  7. ^ "Fighting Irish Ranked Ninth In AP Preseason Poll". und.com. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  8. ^ "2008-09 Notre Dame Men's Basketball Roster Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine." und.com. Retrieved on November 19, 2008.