# 2008–09 Georgia Bulldogs basketball team

The 2008–09 Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of Georgia during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by sixth-year head coach Dennis Felton. They played their home games at Stegeman Coliseum as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 12–20, 3–13 in SEC play and lost in the first round of the 2009 SEC men's basketball tournament to Mississippi State.
Dennis Felton was fired on January 29, 2009. Assistant coach Pete Herrmann was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2007–08 season 17–17 overall and 4–12 in SEC play. In the SEC tournament, they defeated Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas earning the Bulldogs their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002. In the NCAA tournament, they received the #14 seed in the West Region, where they would lose to #3 seeded Xavier in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 14, 2008* | | USC Upstate | W 72–48 | 1–0 | Stegeman Coliseum (6,179) Athens, GA |
| November 17, 2008* | | vs. Loyola (IL) | L 53–74 | 1–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| November 18, 2008* | | vs. Eastern Michigan | W 61–60 | 2–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| November 21, 2008* | | Presbyterian | W 55–47 | 3–1 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| November 24, 2008* | | Santa Clara | W 54–48 | 4–1 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| November 25, 2008* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 98–57 | 5–1 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| December 2, 2008* | | at Western Kentucky | L 63–67 | 5–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,086) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 6, 2008* | | vs. Illinois | L 42–76 | 5–3 | United Center (12,139) Chicago, IL |
| December 9, 2008* | | Virginia Tech | W 67–66 | 6–3 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| December 20, 2008* | | Wofford | W 74–73 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| December 22, 2008* | | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | L 79–80 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| December 28, 2008* | | North Carolina A&T | W 98–68 | 8–4 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| December 31, 2008* | | Kennesaw State | W 72–52 | 9–4 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| January 3, 2009* | | Missouri | L 76–83 | 9–5 | Stegeman Coliseum (8,060) Athens, GA |
| January 6, 2009* | | at Georgia Tech Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate | L 62–67 | 9–6 | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta GA |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| January 10, 2009 | | No. 15 Tennessee | L 77–86 | 9–7 (0–1) | Stegeman Coliseum (8,769) Athens, GA |
| January 14, 2009 | | at Vanderbilt | L 40–50 | 9–8 (0–2) | Memorial Gymnasium (13,972) Nashville, Tennessee |
| January 18, 2009 | | Kentucky | L 45–68 | 9–9 (0–3) | Stegeman Coliseum (9,090) Athens, GA |
| January 24, 2009 | | Mississippi State | L 61–67 | 9–10 (0–4) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| January 28, 2009 | | at Florida | L 57–83 | 9–11 (0–5) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| January 31, 2009 | | at Alabama | L 70–75 | 9–12 (0–6) | Coleman Coliseum (11,046) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 4, 2009 7:00 pm | | LSU | L 62–80 | 9–13 (0–7) | Stegeman Coliseum (6,659) Athens, GA |
| February 7, 2009 | | at South Carolina | L 68–79 | 9–14 (0–8) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 11, 2009 | | at Tennessee | L 48–79 | 9–15 (0–9) | Thompson–Boling Arena (18,623) Knoxville, TN |
| February 14, 2009 | | Florida | W 88–86 | 10–15 (1–9) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| February 18, 2009 | | Auburn | L 59–71 | 10–16 (1–10) | Stegeman Coliseum (6,707) Athens, GA |
| February 21, 2009 | | at Ole Miss | L 47–69 | 10–17 (1–11) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| February 25, 2009 | | Vanderbilt | W 61–57 | 11–17 (2–11) | Stegeman Coliseum (5,841) Athens, GA |
| March 1, 2009 | | at Arkansas | L 67–89 | 11–18 (2–12) | Bud Walton Arena (19,724) Fayetteville, AR |
| March 4, 2009 | | at Kentucky | W 90–85 | 12–18 (3–12) | Rupp Arena (23,889) Lexington, KY |
| March 7, 2009 | | South Carolina | L 51–68 | 12–19 (3–12) | Stegeman Coliseum (7,110) Athens, GA |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2009 | (E6) | vs. (W3) Mississippi State First round | L 60–79 | 12–20 | St. Pete Times Forum (12,152) Tampa, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
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