2008–09 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2008–09 college basketball season. This was head coach Bill Carmody's ninth season at the Northwestern. The Wildcats are members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. They finished the season 17–14, 8–10 in Big Ten play, lost in the first round of the 2009 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament and were invited to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to the University of Tulsa. Northwestern matched their school record for most wins in a season and recorded their first post-season appearance since 1999.

2008–09 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
NIT, First Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record17–14 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coachTavaras Hardy (1st season)
Home arenaWelsh-Ryan Arena
Seasons
2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Michigan State 15 3   .833 31 7   .816
No. 17 Purdue 11 7   .611 27 10   .730
Illinois 11 7   .611 24 10   .706
Penn State 10 8   .556 27 11   .711
Ohio State 10 8   .556 22 11   .667
Wisconsin 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
Minnesota 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Michigan 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Northwestern 8 10   .444 17 14   .548
Iowa 5 13   .278 15 17   .469
Indiana 1 17   .056 6 25   .194
2009 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 16, 2008*
 BTN.com
Central Arkansas W 81–39  1–0
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Nov 19, 2008*
 BTN.com
Texas A&M-CC W 66–48  2–0
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Nov 22, 2008*
at Brown W 73–64  3–0
Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, RI
Nov 26, 2008*
at Butler L 53–57  3–1
Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 1, 2008*
 BTN.com
UC Riverside W 59–43  4–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 3, 2008*
 ESPN2
Florida State W 73–59  5–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 6, 2008*
 BTN
DePaul W 63–36  6–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 15, 2008*
 BTN
UMKC W 77–62  7–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 20, 2008*
at Stanford L 59–65  7–2
Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
Dec 23, 2008*
 BTN
SMU W 66–55  8–2
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 31, 2008
 ESPN2
at Penn State L 57–61  8–3 (0-1)
Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA
Jan 3, 2009
 BTN
No. 10 Michigan State L 66–77  8–4 (0-2)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 7, 2009
 BTN
at Wisconsin L 45–74  8–5 (0-3)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
Jan 15, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 19 Purdue L 61–63  8–6 (0-4)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 18, 2009
 BTN
No. 18 Minnesota W 74–65  9–6 (1-4)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 21, 2009
 BTN
at No. 7 Michigan State W 70–63  10–6 (2-4)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 24, 2009
 BTN
at Michigan L 59–68  10–7 (2-5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 28, 2009
 BTN
Indiana W 77–75  11–7 (3-5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 31, 2009
 BTN
Wisconsin W 66–63  12–7 (4-5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 4, 2009*
 BTN.com
Chicago State W 75–63  13–7
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 7, 2009
 BTN
at Iowa L 51–56  13–8 (4-6)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
Feb 12, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 22 Illinois L 59–60  13–9 (4-7)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 15, 2009
 BTN
Michigan L 67–70 OT 13–10 (4-8)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 18, 2009
 BTN
Ohio State W 72–69  14–10 (5-8)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 22, 2009
 BTN
at Minnesota L 45–72  14–11 (5-9)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Feb 25, 2009
 BTN
at Indiana W 75–53  15–11 (6-9)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
Feb 28, 2009
 BTN
Iowa W 55–49  16–11 (7-9)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Mar 4, 2009
 BTN
at No. 19 Purdue W 64–61  17–11 (8-9)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Mar 8, 2009
 BTN
at Ohio State L 47–52  17–12 (8-10)
Schottenstein Center 
Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
Mar 12, 2009
 BTN
vs. Minnesota L 53–66  17–13 (8-10)
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
NIT
Mar 18, 2009
 ESPNU
at Tulsa L 59–68  17–14 (8-10)
Reynolds Center 
Tulsa, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

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