2008–09 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

2008-09 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
Conference	Big East
2008-09 record	11-21 (2-16 Big East)
Head coach	Fred Hill
Assistant coach	Craig Carter
Assistant coach	Darren Savino
Home arena	Louis Brown Athletic Center

2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#1 Louisville†	16	–	2		.889			31	–	6		.838
#4 Pittsburgh	15	–	3		.833			31	–	5		.861
#5 Connecticut	15	–	3		.833			31	–	5		.861
#11 Villanova	13	–	5		.722			30	–	8		.789
#23 Marquette	12	–	6		.667			25	–	10		.714
#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; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball represented Rutgers University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Head Coach was Fred Hill, then in his 3rd season with the Scarlet Knights. The team played its home games in Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, and is a member of the Big East Conference. The Scarlet Knights finished 15th in the conference's regular season, and was defeated in the first round in the Big East Tournament, falling to Notre Dame 61-50.

Preseason

Recruiting

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Gregory Echenique C	Guatire	St. Benedict's Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	263 lb (119 kg)	Mar 24, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Patrick Jackson SF	New York, NY	Boys & Girls HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Oct 20, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 87
Christian Morris C	South Kent, CT	South Kent School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Jul 16, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Mike Rosario SG	Jersey City, NJ	St. Anthony HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Apr 6, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 19   Rivals: 30
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2008–09 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Home town G 1 Corey Chandler 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Newark, NJ G 31 Mike Coburn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Mount Vernon, NY F 0 Gregory Echenique 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Guatire Venezuela	Head coach Fred Hill (Montclair State) Assistant coach(es) Craig Carter (Rutgers) Darren Savino (Jersey City State) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Phil Dyer (Massachusetts-Boston) Athletic trainer(s) Eric Bridenbaugh (Rutgers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
November 14* 7:30 PM		Caldwell	W 91–56		RAC (2,264) Piscataway, NJ
Regular Season
November 14* 8:00 PM		Marist Garden State Challenge	W 63–61	1–0	RAC (4,822) Piscataway, NJ
November 16* 4:00 PM		at Delaware Garden State Challenge	W 85–77	2–0	Bob Carpenter Center (3,381) Newark, DE
November 21* 8:00 PM		Robert Morris Garden State Challenge	W 69-55	3-0	RAC (4,752) Piscataway, NJ
November 23* 2:00 PM, SNY		St. Bonaventure Garden State Challenge	L 63–64 OT	3–1	RAC (4,018) Piscataway, NJ
November 26* 7:30 PM		Lehigh	L 71–76	3–2	RAC (4,399) Piscataway, NJ
November 30* 2:00 PM		Saint Peter's	W 68–47	4–2	RAC (3,864) Piscataway, NJ
December 3* 7:00 PM		at Rider	W 66–62	5–2	Sovereign Bank Arena (3,126) Trenton, NJ
December 6* 2:00 PM		Binghamton	L 56–66	5–3	RAC (4,076) Piscataway, NJ
December 10* 7:00 PM		at Princeton	W 49–47	6–3	Jadwin Gymnasium (2,912) Princeton, NJ
December 14* 2:00 PM		Delaware State	W 60–55	7–3	RAC (2,967) Piscataway, NJ
December 20* 2:00 PM		Bryant	W 67–37	8–3	RAC (3,077) Piscataway, NJ
December 23* 7:30 PM		NJIT	W 78–52	9–3	RAC (2,319) Piscataway, NJ
December 28* 7:45 PM, FSN/MSG+		at #1 North Carolina	L 75–97	9–4	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
December 31 2:00 PM, MSG+/ESPN360		#3 Pittsburgh	L 72–78	9–5 (0–1)	RAC (6,308) Piscataway, NJ
January 3 7:00 PM, SNY		at #2 Connecticut	L 49–80	9–6 (0–2)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT
January 7 7:30 PM, MSG+		#15 Marquette	L 76–81	9–7 (0–3)	RAC (4,112) Piscataway, NJ
January 10 7:30 PM, SNY		#11 Syracuse	L 66–82	9–8 (0–4)	RAC (8,079) Piscataway, NJ
January 14 7:30 PM, SNY		at Cincinnati	L 59–71	9–9 (0–5)	Fifth Third Arena (6,723) Cincinnati, OH
January 21 7:00 PM, ESPNU		#9 Louisville	L 59–78	9–10 (0–6)	RAC (5,178) Piscataway, NJ
January 24 7:00 PM, MSG+/ESPN360		at St. John's	L 59–70	9–11 (0–7)	Madison Square Garden (7,890) New York, NY
January 29 9:00 PM, ESPN2/ESPN360		at Seton Hall	L 67–70	9–12 (0–8)	Prudential Center (8,390) Newark, NJ
January 31 8:00 PM, ESPNU		DePaul	W 75–56	10–12 (1–8)	RAC (5,020) Piscataway, NJ
February 3 7:00 PM, SNY		at Georgetown	L 47–57	10–13 (1–9)	Verizon Center (8,473) Washington, DC
February 8 12:00 PM, ESPNU		Seton Hall	L 60–65	10–14 (1–10)	RAC (6,504) Piscataway, NJ
February 14 7:00 PM, SNY		at Providence	L 68–78	10–15 (1–11)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,246) Providence, RI
February 19 9:00 PM, ESPN2		at #12 Villanova	L 72–82	10–16 (1–12)	The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA
February 22 3:00 PM, SNY		West Virginia	L 56–74	10–17 (1–13)	RAC (5,281) Piscataway, NJ
February 25 7:00 PM, ESPNU		at Notre Dame	L 65–70	10–18 (1–14)	Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,203) Notre Dame, IN
March 1 2:00 PM, ESPNU		Providence	L 66–73	10–19 (1–15)	RAC (5,122) Piscataway, NJ
March 3 9:00 PM, ESPNU		at #25 Syracuse	L 40–70	10–20 (1–16)	Carrier Dome (21,233) Syracuse, NY
March 7 2:00 PM, ESPN360		South Florida	W 45–42	11–20 (2–16)	RAC (4,114) Piscataway, NJ
Big East Tournament
March 10 7:00 PM, MSG		vs. Notre Dame First Round	L 61–50	11–21	Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.