# 2008–09 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hokies lost Deron Washington off of their 2007–08 team, which finished as the fourth place team in the conference and lost to Ole Miss in the NIT quarterfinals.

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name | First year at VT |
| Head coach | Seth Greenberg | 2003 |
| Assistant coach | James Johnson | 2007 |
| Assistant coach | Ryan Odom | 2003 |
| Assistant coach | Stacey Palmore | 2004 |
| Source: http://www.hokiesports.com/mbasketball/players/ |||

## Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| No. | Position | Player |
| 0 | F | Jeff Allen |
| 1 | G/F | Terrell Bell |
| 4 | G | Evan Synstad |
| 5 | G | Dorenzo Hudson |
| 10 | G | Hank Thorns |
| 11 | F | Chris Panneton |
| 14 | F | Victor Davila |
| 15 | F | Terrance Vinson |
| No. | Position | Player |
| 21 | F | Lewis Witcher |
| 23 | G | Malcolm Delaney |
| 32 | G | Paul Debnam |
| 33 | F | J. T. Thompson |
| 34 | C | Cheick Diakite |
| 40 | G/F | A. D. Vassallo |
| 42 | C | Gene Swindle |
    Starters are indicated in bold

## Schedule and results

| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Overall | Conf. |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 14, 2008 | Gardner-Webb | Blacksburg, VA | W 65–62 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| November 17, 2008 | Mount St. Mary's | Blacksburg, VA | W 62–57 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| November 20, 2008 | Fairfield$^1$ | San Juan, PR (O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off) | W 74–57 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| November 21, 2008 | Xavier | San Juan, PR (O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off) | L 62–63 (OT) | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| November 23, 2008 | Seton Hall | San Juan, PR (O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off) | L 73–77 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| November 26, 2008 | Elon | Blacksburg, VA | W 76–67 | 4–2 | 0–0 |
| December 1, 2008 | Wisconsin | Blacksburg, VA (ACC–Big Ten Challenge) | L 72–74 | 4–3 | 0–0 |
| December 7, 2008 | Navy | Washington, DC (BB&T Classic) | W 79–70 | 5–3 | 0–0 |
| December 9, 2008 | Georgia | Athens, GA | L 66–67 | 5–4 | 0–0 |
| December 14, 2008 | Longwood | Blacksburg, VA | W 79–57 | 6–4 | 0–0 |
| December 20, 2008 | Columbia | Madison Square Garden, NY (ECAC Holiday Festival) | W 64–52 | 7–4 | 0–0 |
| December 21, 2008 | St. John's | Madison Square Garden, NY (ECAC Holiday Festival) | W 81–67 | 8–4 | 0–0 |
| December 29, 2008 | Charleston Southern | Charleston, SC | W 75–66 | 9–4 | 0–0 |
| January 4, 2009 | #5 Duke | Durham, NC | L 44–69 | 9–5 | 0–1 |
| January 10, 2009 | Virginia | Blacksburg, VA (Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry) | W 78–75 | 10–5 | 1–1 |
| January 14, 2009 | Richmond | Blacksburg, VA | W 62–48 | 11–5 | 1–1 |
| January 17, 2009 | Boston College | Blacksburg, VA | W 79–71 | 12–5 | 2–1 |
| January 21, 2009 | #1 Wake Forest | Winston-Salem, NC | W 78–71 | 13–5 | 3–1 |
| January 25, 2009 | Miami | Miami, FL | W 88–83 (OT) | 14–5 | 4–1 |
| January 29, 2009 | #12 Clemson | Blacksburg, VA | L 82–86 | 14–6 | 4–2 |
| January 31, 2009 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | L 66–67 | 14–7 | 4–3 |
| February 8, 2009 | NC State | Blacksburg, VA | W 91–87 (OT) | 15–7 | 5–3 |
| February 11, 2009 | Georgia Tech | Blacksburg, VA | W 76–71 | 16–7 | 6–3 |
| February 14, 2009 | Maryland | College Park, MD | L 73–83 | 16–8 | 6–4 |
| February 18, 2009 | Virginia | Charlottesville, VA (Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry) | L 61–75 | 16–9 | 6–5 |
| February 21, 2009 | Florida State | Blacksburg, VA | L 65–67 | 16–10 | 6–6 |
| February 25, 2009 | #12 Clemson | Clemson, SC | W 80–77 | 17–10 | 7–6 |
| February 28, 2009 | #7 Duke | Blacksburg, VA | L 65–72 | 17–11 | 7–7 |
| March 4, 2009 | #2 North Carolina | Blacksburg, VA | L 78–86 | 17–12 | 7–8 |
| March 8, 2009 | #24 Florida State | Tallahassee, FL | L 53–63 | 17–13 | 7–9 |
| *Conference games in bold, rankings from the AP Poll at the time of the game ||||||