# 2008–09 American Eagles men's basketball team

The 2008–09 American Eagles men's basketball team represented American University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by ninth-year head coach Jeff Jones, played their home games at Bender Arena and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 24–8, 13–1 in Patriot League play, to finish first in the conference regular season standings. They were champions of the Patriot League tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament—the school's second straight appearance—where they lost in the first round to Villanova.

## Roster

Source:

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 14, 2008* 7:00 p.m. | | at No. 12 Oklahoma | L 54–83 | 0–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (10,331) Norman, OK |
| November 17, 2008* 7:30 p.m. | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 67–46 | 1–1 | Bender Arena (2,123) Washington, D.C. |
| November 19, 2008* 7:00 p.m. | | at Howard | W 65–63 | 2–1 | Burr Gymnasium (576) Washington, D.C. |
| November 22, 2008* 7:00 p.m. | | at Jacksonville | W 75–67 | 3–1 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (1,492) Jacksonville, FL |
| November 25, 2008* 7:00 p.m. | | at Stony Brook | W 56–53 | 4–1 | Pritchard Gymnasium (1,100) Stony Brook, NY |
| November 29, 2008* 7:30 p.m. | | at Fairfield | L 73–82 | 4–2 | Arena at Harbor Yard (1,743) Fairfield, CT |
| December 1, 2008* 9:00 p.m., MASN | | Mount St. Mary's | L 52–57 | 4–3 | Bender Arena (1,383) Washington, D.C. |
| December 6, 2008* 1:00 p.m., MASN | | at No. 20 Georgetown | L 49–73 | 4–4 | Verizon Center (11,196) Washington, D.C. |
| December 17, 2008* 7:30 p.m. | | at George Washington | L 50–63 | 4–5 | Charles E. Smith Center (2,653) Washington, D.C. |
| December 20, 2008* 7:00 p.m., MASN | | at UMBC | W 74–61 | 5–5 | RAC Arena (1,470) Catonsville, MD |
| December 22, 2008* 8:00 p.m., CSN | | at Maryland | L 51–67 | 5–6 | Comcast Center (15,838) College Park, MD |
| December 29, 2008* 7:00 p.m. | | at Manhattan | W 60–48 | 6–6 | Draddy Gymnasium (2,107) New York, NY |
| January 2, 2009* 7:30 p.m. | | Brown | W 68–53 | 7–6 | Bender Arena (1,012) Washington, D.C. |
| January 5, 2009* 7:30 p.m. | | Columbia | W 62–50 | 8–6 | Bender Arena (923) Washington, D.C. |
| Patriot League Regular season ||||||
| January 10, 2009 2:00 p.m. | | Lehigh | W 76–66 $^{OT}$ | 9–6 (1–0) | Bender Arena (2,565) Washington, D.C. |
| January 14, 2009 7:30 p.m. | | Bucknell | W 69–55 | 10–6 (2–0) | Bender Arena (1,615) Washington, D.C. |
| January 17, 2009 2:00 p.m., MASN | | at Colgate | W 79–49 | 11–6 (3–0) | Cotterell Court (549) Hamilton, NY |
| January 24, 2009 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Holy Cross | L 62–71 | 11–7 (3–1) | Hart Center (3,672) Worcester, MA |
| January 28, 2009 7:00 p.m. | | at Navy | W 68–67 | 12–7 (4–1) | Alumni Hall (2,675) Annapolis, MD |
| January 31, 2009* 2:00 p.m. | | Lafayette | W 78–65 | 13–7 (5–1) | Bender Arena (2,876) Washington, D.C. |
| February 4, 2009 7:30 p.m. | | Army | W 58–34 | 14–7 (6–1) | Bender Arena (1,292) Washington, D.C. |
| February 7, 2009 7:00 p.m., MASN | | at Lehigh | W 66–58 | 15–7 (7–1) | Stabler Arena (1,874) Bethlehem, PA |
| February 11, 2009 7:00 p.m. | | at Bucknell | W 52–50 | 16–7 (8–1) | Sojka Pavilion (1,938) Lewisburg, PA |
| February 14, 2009 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Colgate | W 69–44 | 17–7 (9–1) | Bender Arena (1,731) Washington, D.C. |
| February 18, 2009 7:00 p.m. | | at Army | W 58–36 | 18–7 (10–1) | Christl Arena (1,062) West Point, NY |
| February 21, 2009 2:00 p.m. | | Holy Cross | W 56–50 | 19–7 (11–1) | Bender Arena (3,018) Washington, D.C. |
| February 25, 2009 8:00 p.m., CBS College Sports | | Navy | W 64–59 | 20–7 (12–1) | Bender Arena (1,655) Washington, D.C. |
| February 28, 2009 1:00 p.m., MASN | | at Lafayette | W 75–68 $^{OT}$ | 21–7 (13–1) | Kirby Sports Center (2,463) Easton, PA |
| Patriot League tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2009* 7:30 p.m. | | Lafayette Quarterfinals | W 78–56 | 22–7 | Bender Arena (1,903) Washington, D.C. |
| March 8, 2009* 12:00 p.m., CSN | | Army Semifinals | W 61–60 | 23–7 | Bender Arena (1,846) Washington, D.C. |
| March 13, 2009* 4:45 p.m., ESPN2 | | Holy Cross Championship game | W 73–57 | 24–7 | Bender Arena (3,123) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 19, 2009* 7:20 p.m. | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 11 Villanova First round | L 67–80 | 24–8 | Wachovia Center (-) Philadelphia, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern. Source: ||||||