2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
The 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team opened the season on November 3 when it took on Cal Baptist in an exhibition game in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins participated in the 2K Sports Classic, Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, and the John R. Wooden Classic in the Honda Center.
| 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball | |
|---|---|
NCAA tournament, Round of 32 | |
| Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 18 |
| AP | No. 18 |
| Record | 26–9 (13–5 Pac-10) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Pauley Pavilion |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Washington | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 26 | – | 9 | .743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 UCLA | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 26 | – | 9 | .743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Arizona State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC† | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 22 | – | 13 | .629 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 18 | – | 18 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 8 | – | 23 | .258 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The team opened the season with the following starters: Alfred Aboya (Center), James Keefe (Power forward), Josh Shipp (Small forward), Jrue Holiday (Shooting guard) and Darren Collison (Point guard).
The team opted not to have an October 17, 2008 Midnight Madness celebration this year. Practices began on Saturday, October 18, as they prepared for the first exhibition game on Monday, November 3. The team has been picked to finish first in the Pac-10 conference again, over Arizona State, USC and Arizona.
Freshman Tyler Trapani (#4), great-grandson of former head coach John Wooden, had joined the team.
Three players from last season's team, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute were chosen to play in the NBA. Westbrook was picked by the Seattle SuperSonics as the fourth overall pick, while Love was the fifth pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, and Mbah a Moute was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks, the 37th pick in the NBA draft.
The team finished the season by losing to Villanova 89–69 in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The senior class of Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp finished their careers with the most wins in school history with 123 The distinction was relative, as John Wooden's legendary teams played shorter seasons and freshmen were ineligible.