The 2008–09 Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team represented Stanford University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinal were led by first year head coach Johnny Dawkins, and played their home games at Maples Pavilion as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference.
Previous season The Cardinal began the year ranked in the top 25 in both polls and would stay until a loss to Siena knocked them out. They did not see the rankings again until conference play where they would climb as high as seventh in the nation. After going 13–5 in conference play, the Cardinal received a two seed in the 2008 Pac-10 Conference tournament. Winning their first two games against Arizona and Washington State, Stanford would face UCLA. whom they lost two twice in the regular season, and just like the regular season would lose in the Finals 67–64.
Ranked 11th in the nation at the time, Stanford received a third seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament. They were placed in the South Region with a first round battle against 14 seed Cornell. Stanford would beat Cornell 78–53 and would face Marquette in the second round. Stanford and Marquette took the game into overtime, and they came out on top of the Golden Eagles 82–81. Stanford reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2001 and their first time under Trent Johnson. Their Sweet Sixteen opponent was 2 seed Texas, but would come up short against the Longhorns 82–62.
At the end of the season, Trent Johnson moved on from Stanford University and accepted the LSU job. Stanford introduced Johnny Dawkins as head coach April 27, 2008.
Offseason
Departures Stanford DeparturesNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for Departure Brook Lopez 11 F 7'0" 240 Sophomore Fresno, CA Drafted 10th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets Robin Lopez 42 F 7'0" 245 Sophomore Fresno, CA Drafted 15th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns Fred Washington 44 F 6'5" 205 Senior Los Angeles, CA Graduated Peter Prowitt 55 C 6'10" 250 Senior Arlington, VA Graduated Taj Finger 31 F 6'8" 190 Senior Mt. Kisco, NY Graduated
Incoming
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-10 tournament
!colspan=12 style=| College Basketball Invitational
Rankings
References