# 2008–09 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2008–09 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by head coach Murry Bartow, played their home games at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. After finishing 2nd in the conference regular season standings, the Buccaneers won the A-Sun tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 16 seed in the East region.
East Tennessee State was beaten by No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in the first round, 72–62.

## Roster

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## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 14, 2008* | | vs. Temple Charleston Classic | L 65–79 | 0–1 | Carolina First Arena (527) Charleston, SC |
| November 15, 2008* | | vs. SIU Edwardsville Charleston Classic | W 65–62 | 1–1 | Carolina First Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 16, 2008* | | vs. Hofstra Charleston Classic | L 75–76 | 1–2 | Carolina First Arena (382) Charleston, SC |
| November 20, 2008* | | Wingate | W 96–66 | 2–2 | Memorial Center (2,751) Johnson City, TN |
| November 24, 2008* | | at Tennessee Tech | W 78–65 | 3–2 | Eblen Center (1,350) Cookeville, TN |
| November 29, 2008* | | at Bradley | L 69–82 | 3–3 | Carver Arena (9,006) Peoria, IL |
| December 2, 2008* | | at Marshall | W 76–72 | 4–3 | Cam Henderson Center (5,310) Huntington, WV |
| December 5, 2008 | | at Mercer | W 81–61 | 5–3 (1–0) | University Center (2,127) Macon, GA |
| December 13, 2008* | | at Appalachian State | W 89–70 | 6–3 | George M. Holmes Convocation Center (2,520) Boone, NC |
| December 17, 2008* | | Chattanooga | W 82–70 | 7–3 | Memorial Center (3,102) Johnson City, TN |
| December 23, 2008 | | at Kennesaw State | W 76–62 | 8–3 (2–0) | KSU Convocation Center (1,243) Kennesaw, TN |
| December 30, 2008* | | Morehead State | L 61–71 | 8–4 | Memorial Center (3,138) Johnson City, TN |
| January 3, 2009 | | Jacksonville | W 84–82 | 9–4 (3–0) | Memorial Center (3,472) Johnson City, TN |
| January 5, 2009 | | North Florida | W 84–57 | 10–4 (4–0) | Memorial Center (2,711) Johnson City, TN |
| January 10, 2009 | | at Stetson | W 73–67 | 11–4 (5–0) | Edmunds Center (1,257) DeLand, FL |
| January 12, 2009 | | at Florida Golf Coast | L 61–64 | 11–5 (5–1) | Alico Arena (1,455) Fort Myers, FL |
| January 17, 2009 | | Lipscomb | W 85–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–5 (6–1) | Memorial Center (3,192) Johnson City, TN |
| January 19, 2009 | | Belmont | W 87–57 | 13–5 (7–1) | Memorial Center (4,196) Johnson City, TN |
| January 22, 2009 | | Campbell | W 79–60 | 14–5 (8–1) | Memorial Center (3,239) Johnson City, TN |
| January 26, 2009 | | USC Upstate | W 82–72 | 15–5 (9–1) | Memorial Center (3,854) Johnson City, TN |
| January 30, 2009 | | at Jacksonville | L 72–82 | 15–6 (9–2) | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (3,648) Jacksonville |
| February 1, 2009 | | at North Florida | W 67–64 | 16–6 (10–2) | UNF Arena (683) Jacksonville, FL |
| February 7, 2009 | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 102–78 | 17–6 (11–2) | Memorial Center (4,045) Johnson City, TN |
| February 9, 2009 | | Stetson | L 63–64 | 17–7 (11–3) | Memorial Center (3,074) Johnson City, TN |
| February 14, 2009 | | at Belmont | L 73–76 | 17–8 (11–4) | Curb Event Center (1,802) Nashville, TN |
| February 16, 2009 | | at Lipscomb | L 91–96 $^{OT}$ | 17–9 (11–5) | Allen Arena (1,317) Nashville, TN |
| February 19, 2009 | | at USC Upstate | W 66–61 | 18–9 (12–5) | G. B. Hodge Center (922) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 23, 2009 | | at Campbell | L 62–68 | 18–10 (12–6) | John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center (1,143) Buies Creek, NC |
| February 26, 2009 | | Kennesaw State | W 81–46 | 19–10 (13–6) | Memorial Center (3,149) Johnson City, TN |
| February 28, 2009 | | Mercer | W 103–81 | 20–10 (14–6) | Memorial Center (4,609) Johnson City, TN |
| Atlantic Sun tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2009 | (2) | vs. (7) Stetson A-Sun Quarterfinals | W 90–76 | 21–10 | Allen Arena (1,014) Nashville, TN |
| March 6, 2009 | (2) | vs. (3) Belmont A-Sun Semifinals | W 88–74 | 22–10 | Allen Arena Nashville, TN |
| March 7, 2009 | (2) | vs. (1) Jacksonville A-Sun Championship | W 85–68 | 23–10 | Allen Arena (1,609) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 20, 2009 | (16 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 4 Pittsburgh NCAA First Round | L 62–72 | 23–11 | UD Arena (12,499) Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
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