2008 Patriot League men's basketball tournament

The 2008 Patriot League men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2007-08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place March 5, 2008, as a single-elimination tournament, with games being played at the higher seeds' home courts. The American University Eagles won the league's regular season, and received the number one seed in the tournament. They kept their home advantage throughout the tournament and defeated Colgate, 52–46, on March 14, 2008, to win the conference tournament and received the Patriot League's automatic bid for the 2008 NCAA tournament.[2]

2008 Patriot League men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2007–08
Teams8
Sitecampus sites
ChampionsAmerican (1st title)
Winning coachJeff Jones (1st title)
MVPGarrison Carr[1] (American)
← 2007
2009 →
2007–08 Patriot League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
American 10 4   .714 21 12   .636
Navy 9 5   .643 16 14   .533
Colgate 7 7   .500 18 14   .563
Lehigh 7 7   .500 14 15   .483
Army 6 8   .429 14 16   .467
Lafayette 6 8   .429 15 15   .500
Bucknell 6 8   .429 12 19   .387
Holy Cross 5 9   .357 15 14   .517
2008 Patriot League tournament winner

Before the tournament

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Prior to the season defending champion Holy Cross,[3] was predicted to finish first in the league once again, while Bucknell, a team who had won a game in both the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments,[4] was predicted to finish second.[5] However the league was unpredictable,[6] as both teams ended their conference regular seasons with a losing record.[7] Lafayette started off strong in league play, but quickly fell by the wayside. American and Navy, teams predicted to finish fifth and seventh respectively,[5] ended their seasons in first and second in the league, with American gaining home court advantage throughout the tournament.[8]

Bracket

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The Patriot League announced the bracket and seed on March 3, 2008.[9]

Quarterfinals
March 5
Semifinals
March 9
Championship
March 14
         
1 American 62
8 Holy Cross 60
1 American 72
5 Army 60
4 Lehigh 61
5 Army 64*
1 American 52
3 Colgate 46
3 Colgate 76
6 Lafayette 74
3 Colgate 54
7 Bucknell 40
7 Bucknell 87***
2 Navy 86

* represents an overtime period

References

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  1. ^ Patriot League Champions! Eagles Go Dancing with 52–46 Win Over Colgate in PL Title Game
  2. ^ "American tops Colgate, wins Patriot League title". ESPN. Associated Press. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original on March 22, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
  3. ^ "Holy Cross tops Bucknell to win Patriot championship". ESPN. Associated Press. March 9, 2007. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  4. ^ "Bucknell clips Arkansas for second straight first-round win". ESPN. Associated Press. March 17, 2006. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "2007–08 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll and Award Winners Announced". Patriot League. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  6. ^ Forde, Pat (March 4, 2008). "Here's to the league overachievers ... and the underachievers too". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  7. ^ "Patriot League Standings 2007–2008". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Whelliston, Kyle (March 3, 2008). "Previewing the early Championship Week tournaments". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  9. ^ "Patriot League Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Release – 3.3.08". Patriot League. March 3, 2008. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.