# 2008–09 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Dave Leitao, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers were picked to finish last in the conference this season in the pre-season media poll. While they only finished 11th, ahead of Georgia Tech, their record of 10–18 and 4–12 in conference was the worst the team had received in over forty years. At the end of the season, head coach Dave Leitao resigned. On April 1, 2009, Washington State head coach Tony Bennett was announced as his replacement.

## Last season

The Cavaliers had a record of 17–16, with a conference record of 5–11.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition game |||||
| Nov. 9* 2:00 pm | Shepherd | W 87–52 | | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Regular season |||||
| Nov. 16* 4:00 pm, CSN | VMI | W 107–97 | 1–0 | John Paul Jones Arena (9,955) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nov. 19* 7:00 pm | South Florida | W 77–75 | 2–0 | John Paul Jones Arena (8,810) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nov. 21* 7:00 pm | Radford | W 68–66 | 3–0 | John Paul Jones Arena (10,311) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nov. 25* 7:00 pm | Liberty | L 82–86 | 3–1 | John Paul Jones Arena (9,263) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nov. 28* 7:00 pm | at Syracuse | L 70–73 | 3–2 | Carrier Dome (22,096) Syracuse, New York |
| Dec. 2* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | at Minnesota ACC/Big Ten Challenge | L 56–66 | 3–3 | Williams Arena (12,424) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec. 17* 7:00 pm | Longwood | W 90–61 | 4–3 | John Paul Jones Arena (8,543) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 20* 4:00 pm, CSN | Auburn | L 56–58 | 4–4 | John Paul Jones Arena (11,070) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 23* 7:00 pm | Hampton | W 74–48 | 5–4 | John Paul Jones Arena (9,158) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 28 5:30 pm, FSN | at Georgia Tech | W 88–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 (1–0) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum (7,230) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jan. 3* 2:00 pm, CSN | No. 22 Xavier | L 70–84 | 6–5 | John Paul Jones Arena (10,174) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 6* 7:00 pm | Brown | W 74–50 | 7–5 | John Paul Jones Arena (8,357) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 10 4:00 pm, RSN | at Virginia Tech | L 75–78 | 7–6 (1–1) | Cassell Coliseum (9,847) Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Jan. 15 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 North Carolina | L 61–83 | 7–7 (1–2) | John Paul Jones Arena (13,811) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 20 8:00 pm, Raycom | at Maryland | L 78–84 | 7–8 (1–3) | Comcast Center (16,205) College Park, Maryland |
| Jan. 24 4:00 pm, RSN | Florida State | L 62–73 | 7–9 (1–4) | John Paul Jones Arena (10,981) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 1 2:00 pm, FSN | at No. 1 Duke | L 54–79 | 7–10 (1–5) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, North Carolina |
| Feb. 4 7:00 pm, ESPNU | Boston College | L 70–80 | 7–11 (1–6) | John Paul Jones Arena (9,631) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 7 4:00 pm, Raycom | at No. 3 North Carolina | L 61–76 | 7–12 (1–7) | Dean Smith Center (20,879) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb. 10 7:00 pm, RSN | at No. 25 Florida State | L 57–68 | 7–13 (1–8) | Donald L. Tucker Center (7,921) Tallahassee, Florida |
| Feb. 15 1:00 pm, Raycom | No. 12 Clemson | W 85–81 $^{OT}$ | 8–13 (2–8) | John Paul Jones Arena (10,971) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 18 8:00 pm, Raycom | Virginia Tech | W 75–61 | 9–13 (3–8) | John Paul Jones Arena (11,174) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 21 1:00 pm, Raycom | at NC State | L 67–72 | 9–14 (3–9) | PNC Arena (16,353) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb. 26 8:00 pm, Raycom | Miami | L 55–62 | 9–15 (3–10) | John Paul Jones Arena (9,392) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 28 2:00 pm, Raycom | No. 13 Wake Forest | L 60–70 | 9–16 (3–11) | John Paul Jones Arena (11,065) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Mar. 3 7:00 pm, RSN | at No. 18 Clemson | L 57–75 | 9–17 (3–12) | Littlejohn Coliseum (8,150) Clemson, South Carolina |
| Mar. 7 3:30 pm, ABC | Maryland | W 68–63 | 10–17 (4–12) | John Paul Jones Arena (11,050) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| ACC Tournament |||||
| Mar. 12 9:30 pm, Raycom | vs. Boston College ACC Tournament first round | L 63–76 | 10–18 | Georgia Dome (26,352) Atlanta |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.. |||||