2008–09 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2008–09 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University and completed the season by winning the 2009 National Invitation Tournament over the Baylor Bears at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Head Coach, Ed DeChellis, coached his sixth season with the team.[1] The team played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center, which has a capacity of 15,261, for the twelfth consecutive season.[2] The season marked the team's sixteenth consecutive season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

2008–09 Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record27–11 (10–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBryce Jordan Center
Seasons
2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Michigan State 15 3   .833 31 7   .816
No. 17 Purdue 11 7   .611 27 10   .730
Illinois 11 7   .611 24 10   .706
Penn State 10 8   .556 27 11   .711
Ohio State 10 8   .556 22 11   .667
Wisconsin 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
Minnesota 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Michigan 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Northwestern 8 10   .444 17 14   .548
Iowa 5 13   .278 15 17   .469
Indiana 1 17   .056 6 25   .194
2009 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Current coaching staff

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Position Name Year Alma mater
Head coach
2003
Penn State (1982)
Assistant coach
2003
La Salle (1980)
Assistant coach
2008
VMI (1993)
Assistant coach
2005
Penn State (1997)
Director of basketball operations
Jon Perry
2004
ETSU (2002)

Roster

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Chris Babb
Name [3] # Position Height Weight Year Home Town
Chris Babb 10 Guard 6–5 210 Freshman Arlington, TX
Talor Battle 12 Guard 5–11 165 Sophomore Albany, NY
Jeff Brooks 25 Forward 6–8 200 Sophomore Louisville, KY
Jamelle Cornley 2 Forward 6–5 240 Senior Columbus, OH
Adam Highberger 14 Guard 6–2 170 Sophomore Blairsville, PA
David Jackson 15 Forward 6–6 205 Sophomore Farrell, PA
Andrew Jones III 22 Forward 6–9 245 Sophomore Philadelphia
Steve Kirkpatrick 41 Forward 6–5 225 Sophomore Carlisle, PA
Will Leiner 13 Guard 6–1 170 Senior Coplay, PA
Danny Morrissey 33 Guard 6–3 190 Senior Cleveland, OH
Billy Oliver 42 Forward 6–8 205 Freshman Chatham, NJ
Andrew Ott 54 Forward 6–10 235 Sophomore Abington, PA
Stanley Pringle 11 Guard 6–1 180 Senior Virginia Beach, VA
Joonas Suotamo 21 Forward 6–10 230 Senior Espoo, Finland
Cammeron Woodyard 24 Guard 6–5 205 Freshman Westminster, MD

Schedule and Results

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Preseason

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Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
Aug 30*
12:00 p.m., no
vs. Waterloo W 83–52  1–0
Sheridan College Athletic Centre - Davis Campus 
Brampton, ON
Aug 30*
7:00 p.m., no
at Sheridan W 83–65  2–0
Sheridan College Athletic Centre - Davis Campus 
Brampton, ON
Aug 31*
7:00 p.m., no
at Ryerson W 102–68  3–0
Kerr Hall Gymnasium 
Toronto, ON
Sep 1*
12:00 p.m., no
at York W 83–45  4–0
Tait McKenzie Centre 
Toronto, ON
Nov 9*
2:00 p.m., no
Bloomsburg W 77–51  5–0
Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Regular Season and Postseason

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Nov 14*
6:30 p.m., BTN
William & Mary W 65–51  1–0
Bryce Jordan Center (8,026)
University Park, PA
Nov 17*
7:00 p.m., BTN
NJIT
Philly Hoop Group Classic[4]
W 74–47  2–0
Bryce Jordan Center (5,293)
University Park, PA
Nov 20*
7:00 p.m., BTN.com
Hartford
Philly Hoop Group Classic[4]
W 89–64  3–0
Bryce Jordan Center (5,142)
University Park, PA
Nov 23*
2:00 p.m., BTN
New Hampshire W 70–50  4–0
Bryce Jordan Center (4,546)
University Park, PA
Nov 25*
7:30 p.m., CN8
vs. Penn W 85–73  5–0
Palestra (4,581)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 28*
6:30 p.m., CN8
vs. Rhode Island
Philly Hoop Group Classic semifinal
L 72–77  5–1
Palestra (5,000)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 29*
6:30 p.m., CN8
vs. Towson
Philly Hoop Group Classic consolation game
W 78–54  6–1
Palestra (4,195)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 3*
7:30 p.m., ESPN2
at Georgia Tech
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 85–83  7–1
Alexander Memorial Coliseum (7,900)
Atlanta, GA
Dec 6*
6:00 p.m., BTN
Temple L 59–65  7–2
Bryce Jordan Center (9,833)
University Park, PA
Dec 10*
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Army W 60–45  8–2
Bryce Jordan Center (5,720)
University Park, PA
Dec 13*
4:00 p.m., BTN.com
Mount St. Mary's W 61–56  9–2
Bryce Jordan Center (4,676)
University Park, PA
Dec 21*
4:00 p.m., ESPNU
Lafayette W 83–55  10–2
Bryce Jordan Center (4,462)
University Park, PA
Dec 23*
7:00 p.m., BTN.com
Sacred Heart W 73–65  11–2
Bryce Jordan Center (4,407)
University Park, PA
Dec 31
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
Northwestern W 61–57  12–2 (1–0)
Bryce Jordan Center (5,525)
University Park, PA
Jan 3
2:00 p.m., BTN
at Wisconsin L 61–65  12–3 (1–1)
Kohl Center (17,230)
Madison, WI
Jan 6
9:00 p.m., BTN
No. 14 Purdue W 67–64  13–3 (2–1)
Bryce Jordan Center (4,404)
University Park, PA
Jan 11
3:30 p.m., BTN
at No. 22 Minnesota L 59–79  13–4 (2–2)
Williams Arena (13,757)
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 14
6:30 p.m., BTN
No. 10 Michigan State L 73–78  13–5 (2–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (10,270)
University Park, PA
Jan 17
6:00 p.m., BTN
at Indiana W 65–55  14–5 (3–3)
Assembly Hall (15,626)
Bloomington, IN
Jan 20
9:00 p.m., BTN
Michigan W 73–58  15–5 (4–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (8,730)
University Park, PA
Jan 24
6:00 p.m., BTN
Iowa W 63–59  16–5 (5–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (12,210)
University Park, PA
Feb 1
12:00 p.m., BTN
at No. 9 Michigan State W 72–68  17–5 (6–3)
Breslin Center (14,759)
East Lansing, MI
Feb 5
7:00 p.m., BTN
at Michigan L 51–71  17–6 (6–4)
Crisler Arena (10,134)
Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 8
3:00 p.m., BTN
Wisconsin L 44–54  17–7 (6–5)
Bryce Jordan Center (14,686)
University Park, PA
Feb 11
6:30 p.m., BTN
at No. 23 Purdue L 47–61  17–8 (6–6)
Mackey Arena (14,013)
West Lafayette, IN
Feb 14
1:30 p.m., BTN
Minnesota W 68–63  18–8 (7–6)
Bryce Jordan Center (12,148)
University Park, PA
Feb 18
7:00 p.m., BTN
at No. 16 Illinois W 38–33  19–8 (8–6)
Assembly Hall (16,200)
Champaign, IL
Feb 24
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at Ohio State L 59–73  19–9 (8–7)
Value City Arena (18,170)
Columbus, OH
Feb 28
6:00 p.m., BTN
Indiana W 61–58  20–9 (9–7)
Bryce Jordan Center (15,035)
University Park, PA
Mar 5
9:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 23 Illinois W 64–63  21–9 (10–7)
Bryce Jordan Center (13,091)
University Park, PA
Mar 7
2:00 p.m., BTN
at Iowa L 69–75 2OT 21–10 (10–8)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,094)
Iowa City, IA
Big Ten tournament
Mar 12
5:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Indiana
First round
W 66–51  22–10
Conseco Fieldhouse (12,174)
Indianapolis, IN
Mar 13
9:00 p.m., BTN
vs. No. 24 Purdue
Quarterfinal
L 65–79  22–11
Conseco Fieldhouse (14,647)
Indianapolis, IN
National Invitation Tournament
Mar 17*
8:00 p.m., ESPNU
George Mason
First round
W 77–73 OT 23–11
Bryce Jordan Center (5,549)
University Park, PA
Mar 19*
7:00 p.m., CN8
Rhode Island
Second round
W 83–72  24–11
Bryce Jordan Center (6,646)
University Park, PA
Mar 24*
9:00 p.m., ESPN
at Florida
Quarterfinal
W 71–62  25–11
O'Connell Center (6,525)
Gainesville, FL
Mar 31*
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Notre Dame
Semifinal
W 67–59  26–11
Madison Square Garden (11,352)
New York, NY
Apr 2*
7:00 p.m., ESPN
vs. Baylor
Championship game
W 69–63  27–11
Madison Square Garden (10,254)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Awards

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Players

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  • Talor Battle
    • Big Ten Player of the Week (Nov. 23)[5]
    • All Big Ten first team point guard[6]
  • Jamelle Cornley
    • Big Ten Player of the Week (Jan. 26)[7]
    • All Big Ten second team forward[6]
    • 2009 NIT MVP

Coaches

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References

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  1. ^ "Ed Dechellis". Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  2. ^ "Bryce Jordan Center". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved November 12, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "2008–09 Penn State Men's Basketball Roster". pennlive.com. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "PHGC – 2008 Results". Philly Hoop Group. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "Battle Earns Conference Player Of The Week Honor". The Pennsylvania State University. November 24, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Ross, Sam. "PSU coach, players honored by Big Ten". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Cornley Earns First Career Big Ten Player Of The Week Award". The Pennsylvania State University. January 26, 2009. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.