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.