# 2008–09 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represented The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball competition as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The 2008–09 team posted a 23–12 record, finished in fourth place in the Big 12, and reached the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament.

## Roster

| | # | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Home Town |
| Gary Johnson | 1 | Forward | 6–6 | 233 | Sophomore | Houston, Texas |
| A.J. Abrams | 3 | Guard | 5–11 | 165 | Senior | Round Rock, Texas |
| Doğuş Balbay | 4 | Guard | 6–0 | 165 | Sophomore | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Damion James | 5 | Guard/Forward | 6–7 | 222 | Junior | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Alexis Wangmene | 20 | Forward/Center | 6–7 | 241 | Junior | Maroua, Cameroon |
| Matt Hill | 21 | Center | 6–10 | 241 | Sophomore | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Harrison Smith | 23 | Guard | 6–2 | 195 | Junior | Houston, Texas |
| Justin Mason | 24 | Guard | 6–2 | 194 | Junior | Amarillo, Texas |
| Connor Atchley | 32 | Center | 6–10 | 228 | Senior | Clear Lake (Houston), Texas |
| Dexter Pittman | 34 | Center | 6–10 | 298 | Junior | Rosenberg, Texas |
| Varez Ward | 50 | Guard | 6–2 | 190 | Freshman | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Clint Chapman | 45 | Forward/Center | 6–10 | 235 | Sophomore | Canby, Oregon |

## Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Varez Ward SF | Patterson, NC | The Patterson School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 71 ||||||
| J'Covan Brown SG | Port Arthur, TX | Memorial HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 15, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR ||||||
| 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: "Texas 2008 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008. "2008 Texas Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 2008/11/14* 7:00 p.m. | No. 7 | Stetson | W 68–38 | 1–0 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/11/18* 7:00 p.m. | No. 7 | Tulane | W 76–51 | 2–0 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/11/24* 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 6 | vs. Saint Joseph's Maui Invitational | W 68–50 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| 2008/11/25* 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | vs. No. 8 Notre Dame Maui Invitational | L 80–81 | 3–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| 2008/11/26* 4:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | vs. Oregon Maui Invitational | W 70–57 | 4–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| 2008/11/30* 2:00 p.m. | No. 6 | Rice | W 77–56 | 5–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/12/04* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 8 | No. 12 UCLA | W 68–64 | 6–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/12/09* 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | No. 15 Villanova Jimmy V Classic | W 67–58 | 7–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin TX |
| 2008/12/13* 12:00 p.m. | No. 6 | Texas State | W 81–73 | 8–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/12/16* 7:00 p.m. | No. 5 | Texas Southern | W 88–72 | 9–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2008/12/20* 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 5 | No. 19 Michigan State | W 67–63 | 9–2 | Reliant Stadium Houston, TX |
| 2008/12/23* 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 9 | at Wisconsin | W 74–69 | 10–2 | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| 2009/01/02* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 8 | Appalachian State | W 78–43 | 11–2 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/01/06* 8:05 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 7 | at Arkansas | L 61–67 | 11–3 | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| 2009/01/10 4:00 p.m., Big 12 (ESPN+) | No. 7 | Iowa State | W 75–67 | 12–3 (1–0) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/01/12 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 11 | at No. 6 Oklahoma | L 63–78 | 12–4 (1–1) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| 2009/01/17 3:00 p.m., Big 12 (ESPN+) | No. 11 | at Texas Tech | W 71–49 | 13–4 (2–1) | United Spirit Arena Lubbock, TX |
| 2009/01/24 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 14 | Texas A&M | W 67–58 | 14–4 (3–1) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/01/27 8:00 p.m., Big 12 (ESPN+) | No. 11 | at Baylor | W 78–72 | 15–4 (4–1) | Ferrell Center Waco, TX |
| 2009/01/31 3:00 p.m., Big 12 (ESPN+) | No. 11 | Kansas State | L 81–85 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (4–2) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/02/04 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 16 | Missouri | L 65–69 | 15–6 (4–3) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/02/07 1:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 16 | at Nebraska | L 55–58 | 15–7 (4–4) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, NE |
| 2009/02/10 7:00 p.m. | | Oklahoma State | W 99–74 | 16–7 (5–4) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/02/14 1:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Colorado | W 85–76 (OT) | 17–7 (6–4) | Coors Events Center Boulder, CO |
| 2009/02/16 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Texas A&M | L 66–81 | 17–8 (6–5) | Reed Arena College Station, TX |
| 2009/02/21 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 2 Oklahoma ESPN College GameDay | W 73–68 | 18–8 (7–5) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/02/25 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 25 | Texas Tech | W 87–81 | 19–8 (8–5) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/02/28 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 25 | at Oklahoma State | L 59-68 | 19–9 (8–6) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, OK |
| 2009/03/02 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | Baylor | W 73–57 | 20–9 (9–6) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| 2009/03/07 3:00 p.m., CBS | | at No. 9 Kansas | L 73-83 | 20–10 (9–7) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| 2009/03/11 2:00 p.m., Big 12 Network | | vs. Colorado | W 77–56 | 21–10 | Ford Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| 2009/03/12 2:00 p.m., Big 12 Network | | vs. Kansas State | W 61–58 | 22–10 | Ford Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| 2009/03/13 6:00 p.m., Big 12 Network | | vs. Baylor | L 70–76 | 22–11 | Ford Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 2009/03/19 CBS | | vs. Minnesota First Round | W 76–62 | 23–11 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| 2009/03/21 7:15PM, CBS | | vs. No. 6 Duke Second Round | L 69–74 | 23–12 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. ||||||

## 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 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 16 | NR | NR | 25 | NR | | | | |
| Coaches | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 17 | NR | NR | 24 | NR | | | | |

## Awards and honors

* Rick Barnes, Legends of Coaching Award (adopted by the John R.Wooden Award Committee)