2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team[1] represented the University of Tennessee in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the fourth season for Bruce Pearl as the Volunteers' head coach. The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.

2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball
SEC East Division champions
NCAA Tournament, Round of 64
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
2008–09 record21–13 (10–6 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThompson-Boling Arena
2008–09 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
South Carolina106 .625  2110  .677
Tennessee106 .625  2113  .618
Florida97 .563  2511  .694
Vanderbilt88 .500  1912  .613
Kentucky88 .500  2214  .611
Georgia313 .188  1220  .375
West
No. 21 LSU133 .813  278  .771
Auburn106 .625  2412  .667
Mississippi State97 .563  2313  .639
Alabama79 .438  1814  .563
Ole Miss79 .438  1615  .516
Arkansas214 .125  1416  .467
† SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

The 2007–08 Volunteers finished the season 31–5 overall with a 14–2 mark in conference play. They won their first outright SEC regular season men's basketball championship in 41 years.[2] In postseason play, the Volunteers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals and finished ranked at #7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.[3]

The Vols lost three seniors from their team during the off-season: Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Jordan Howell. Also, sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore point guard Ramar Smith were dismissed from the team for a combination of "violations of the University of Tennessee’s substance-abuse policy and academic shortcomings." [4]

On November 3, 2008, the SEC released the rosters for the preseason All-SEC first and second teams. Junior forward Tyler Smith was chosen for both SEC Player of the Year and first team All-SEC. Wayne Chism and J. P. Prince were selected for the second team All-SEC, thus tying Tennessee with LSU for the most All-SEC selections (3).[5]

Recruiting

Bruce Pearl was able to pull together a highly ranked recruiting class for the 2008–09 season. The class included: Emmanuel Negedu, rated 13th among power forwards in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com; Renaldo Woolridge, the 11th ranked small forward; Bobby Maze, a junior college guard averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game; and Scotty Hopson, a McDonald's All-American and ranked 5th overall by Rivals.com. The class also includes point guard Daniel West and center Philip Jurick. Rivals.com ranked the class as 7th best in the nation.[6][7]

2008–09 Roster

Name Number Position Height Weight Year Hometown Former School
Renaldo Woolridge 0 G/F 6–8 208 Freshman North Hollywood, California Harvard-Westlake
Tyler Smith 1 F 6–7 215 Junior Pulaski, Tennessee Iowa
Bobby Maze 3 PG 6–2 185 Junior Suitland, Maryland Hutchinson (Kan.) C.C.
Wayne Chism 4 F/C 6–9 242 Junior Jackson, Tennessee Bolivar Central
Emmanuel Negedu 5 PF 6–7 240 Freshman Kaduna, Nigeria Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Quinn Cannington 11 SG 6–4 165 Junior Knoxville, Tennessee Fulton
Steven Pearl 22 SF 6–5 228 Sophomore Knoxville, Tennessee West
Cameron Tatum 23 G/F 6–6 196 Redshirt freshman Lithonia, Georgia The Patterson School
Tanner Wild 24 PG 6–0 170 Senior Huntington, West Virginia Huntington
Josh Tabb 25 PG 6–4 196 Junior Carbondale, Illinois Harmony Community Prep
J. P. Prince 30 SG 6–7 205 Junior Memphis, Tennessee Arizona
Scotty Hopson 32 SG 6–7 185 Freshman Hopkinsville, Kentucky University Heights
Brian Williams 33 C 6–10 267 Sophomore Bronx, New York Harmony Community Prep
Ryan Childress 34 PF 6–9 235 Senior Cincinnati, Ohio Moeller
Phillip Jurick 44 C 6–10 250 Freshman Chattanooga, Tennessee East Ridge

[8]

Schedule and Results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
November 3*
7:00 pm
No. 14 Indianapolis W 87-73 
Thompson-Boling Arena (18,378)
Knoxville, TN
November 7*
7:30 pm
No. 14 Tusculum W 82-51 
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,421)
Knoxville, TN
Regular season
November 15*
7:00 pm, SportSouth
No. 14 Chattanooga W 114-75  1–0
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,864)
Knoxville, TN
November 18*
7:00 pm, SportSouth
No. 14 UT-Martin W 91-64  2–0
Thompson-Boling Arena (19,761)
Knoxville, TN
November 21*
8:30 pm, CSS
No. 14 at MTSU W 76–66  3–0
Murphy Center (11,802)
Murfreesboro, TN
November 27*
12:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 12 vs. Siena
Old Spice Classic
W 78–64  4–0
The Milk House (3,357)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
November 28*
1:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 12 vs. No. 16 Georgetown
Old Spice Classic
W 90–78  5–0
The Milk House (3,926)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
November 30*
7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 12 vs. No. 10 Gonzaga
Old Spice Classic
L 74–83  5–1
The Milk House (3,914)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
December 3*
7:00 pm, SportSouth
No. 10 UNC-Asheville W 87-69  6–1
Thompson-Boling Arena (19,391)
Knoxville, TN
December 13*
12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 8 at Temple L 72–88  6–2
Liacouras Center (8,068)
Philadelphia, PA
December 16*
9:30 pm, ESPN
No. 16 vs. No. 23 Marquette W 80-68  7–2
Sommet Center (9,498)
Nashville, TN
December 20*
3:00 pm, SportSouth
No. 16 Belmont W 79-77  8–2
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,314)
Knoxville, TN
December 29*
7:30 pm
No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette W 89-62  9–2
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,863)
Knoxville, TN
January 3*
2:00 pm, ESPN
No. 14 at Kansas L 85–92  9–3
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, KS
January 7*
9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 15 Gonzaga W 89–79 OT 9–4
Thompson-Boling Arena (22,326)
Knoxville, TN
January 10
12:00 pm, Raycom
No. 15 at Georgia W 86–77  10–4
Stegeman Coliseum (8,769)
Athens, GA
January 13
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 24 Kentucky L 72-90  10–5
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,474)
Knoxville, TN
January 17
6:00 pm, FSN
No. 24 South Carolina W 82–79  11–5
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,203)
Knoxville, TN
January 20
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Vanderbilt W 76–63  12–5
Memorial Gymnasium (14,057)
Nashville, TN
January 24*
3:30 pm, CBS
Memphis L 52-54  12–6
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,905)
Knoxville, TN
January 28
8:00 pm, Raycom
LSU L 73–79  12–7
Thompson-Boling Arena (18,526)
Knoxville, TN
January 31
9:00 pm, ESPN
Florida
ESPN College GameDay
W 79-63  13–7
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,984)
Knoxville, TN
February 4
8:00 pm, Raycom
at Arkansas W 72–70  14–7
Bud Walton Arena (16,064)
Fayetteville, AR
February 7
1:00 pm, Raycom
at Auburn L 77–78  14–8
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (6,321)
Auburn, AL
February 11
8:00 pm, Raycom
Georgia W 79-48  15–8
Thompson-Boling Arena (18,623)
Knoxville, TN
February 14
3:00 pm, Raycom
Vanderbilt W 69–50  16–8
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,375)
Knoxville, TN
February 18
8:00 pm, Raycom
at Mississippi L 65–81  16–9
Tad Smith Coliseum (7,250)
Oxford, MS
February 21
1:00 pm, CBS
at Kentucky L 58–77  16–10
Rupp Arena (24,394)
Lexington, KY
February 25
9:00 pm, Raycom
Mississippi State W 81–76  17–10
Thompson-Boling Arena (19,137)
Knoxville, TN
March 1
2:00 pm, CBS
at Florida W 79–75  18–10
O'Connell Center (12,490)
Gainesville, FL
March 5
7:00 pm, ESPN
South Carolina W 87–70  19–10
Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Columbia, SC
March 8
12:00 pm, CBS
at Alabama L 67–70  19–11
Thompson-Boling Arena (20,493)
Knoxville, TN
<span style=background-color:#FF8200;color:#000000;|>SEC Tournament
March 13
7:30 pm, Raycom
vs. Alabama
SEC Quarterfinals
W 86–62  20–11
St. Pete Times Forum (14,128)
Tampa, FL
March 14
3:15 pm, ESPN2
vs. Auburn
SEC Semifinals
W 94–85  21–11
St. Pete Times Forum (10,387)
Tampa, FL
March 15
1:00 pm, CBS
vs. Mississippi State
SEC Championship Game
L 61–64  21–12
St. Pete Times Forum (10,093)
Tampa, FL
<span style=background-color:#FF8200;color:#000000;|>NCAA Tournament
March 20
12:25 pm, CBS
vs. Oklahoma State
1st Round NCAA Tournament
L 75–77  21–13
University of Dayton Arena (12,499)
Dayton, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time [9].

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final 
AP 14 14 12 10 8 16 16 14 15 24 NR Not released 
Coaches 13 13 12 13 8 19 21 18 т 25 NR

References

  1. The "Volunteers" nickname is exclusive to men's athletics at the school. Women's teams and athletes are formally referred to as "Lady Volunteers", but the short form of "Lady Vols" is more widely used (the university officially approves the use of both forms).
  2. http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2007-2008/teamcume.html
  3. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings?seasonYear=2008
  4. http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/may/02/duke-crews-and-ramar-smith-not-return/
  5. http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110308aaa.html
  6. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=839831#rank
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-11-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/tenn-m-baskbl-mtt.html
  9. http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/tenn-m-baskbl-sched.html
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