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
Home arenaWelsh-Ryan Arena
Seasons
← 2007–08
2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 8 Michigan State153 .833317 .816
No. 17 Purdue117 .6112710 .730
Illinois117 .6112410 .706
Penn State108 .5562711 .711
Ohio State108 .5562211 .667
Wisconsin108 .5562013 .606
Minnesota99 .5002211 .667
Michigan99 .5002114 .600
Northwestern810 .4441714 .548
Iowa513 .2781517 .469
Indiana117 .056625 .194
2009 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite
city, state
Regular season
Nov 16, 2008*
 BTN.com
Central ArkansasW 81–39 1–0
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Nov 19, 2008*
 BTN.com
Texas A&M-CCW 66–48 2–0
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Nov 22, 2008*
at BrownW 73–64 3–0
Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, RI
Nov 26, 2008*
at ButlerL 53–57 3–1
Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 1, 2008*
 BTN.com
UC RiversideW 59–43 4–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 3, 2008*
 ESPN2
Florida StateW 73–59 5–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 6, 2008*
 BTN
DePaulW 63–36 6–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 15, 2008*
 BTN
UMKCW 77–62 7–1
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 20, 2008*
at StanfordL 59–65 7–2
Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
Dec 23, 2008*
 BTN
SMUW 66–55 8–2
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Dec 31, 2008
 ESPN2
at Penn StateL 57–61 8–3 (0-1)
Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA
Jan 3, 2009
 BTN
No. 10 Michigan StateL 66–77 8–4 (0-2)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 7, 2009
 BTN
at WisconsinL 45–74 8–5 (0-3)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
Jan 15, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 19 PurdueL 61–63 8–6 (0-4)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 18, 2009
 BTN
No. 18 MinnesotaW 74–65 9–6 (1-4)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 21, 2009
 BTN
at No. 7 Michigan StateW 70–63 10–6 (2-4)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 24, 2009
 BTN
at MichiganL 59–68 10–7 (2-5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 28, 2009
 BTN
IndianaW 77–75 11–7 (3-5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Jan 31, 2009
 BTN
WisconsinW 66–63 12–7 (4-5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 4, 2009*
 BTN.com
Chicago StateW 75–63 13–7
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 7, 2009
 BTN
at IowaL 51–56 13–8 (4-6)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
Feb 12, 2009
 ESPN2
No. 22 IllinoisL 59–60 13–9 (4-7)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 15, 2009
 BTN
MichiganL 67–70 OT13–10 (4-8)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 18, 2009
 BTN
Ohio StateW 72–69 14–10 (5-8)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 22, 2009
 BTN
at MinnesotaL 45–72 14–11 (5-9)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Feb 25, 2009
 BTN
at IndianaW 75–53 15–11 (6-9)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
Feb 28, 2009
 BTN
IowaW 55–49 16–11 (7-9)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Mar 4, 2009
 BTN
at No. 19 PurdueW 64–61 17–11 (8-9)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Mar 8, 2009
 BTN
at Ohio StateL 47–52 17–12 (8-10)
Schottenstein Center 
Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
Mar 12, 2009
 BTN
vs. MinnesotaL 53–66 17–13 (8-10)
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
NIT
Mar 18, 2009
 ESPNU
at TulsaL 59–68 17–14 (8-10)
Reynolds Center 
Tulsa, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References