2008–09 American Eagles men's basketball team
# 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 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.

## Schedule and results

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