1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season explained
The 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1988 and ended with the Final Four at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, on April 3, 1989.
Season headlines
- The ECAC Metro renamed itself the North Atlantic Conference. It renamed itself the America East Conference in 1996.
- The ECAC North renamed itself the Northeast Conference.
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association changed its name to the Big West Conference on July 1, 1988.
- Loyola Marymount junior All-American Hank Gathers became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring (32.7) and rebounding (13.7) in the same season.
- Neutral courts were used in all rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time.[1]
- All the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the NCAA tournament advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" for the first time.[1]
- The NCAA notes that P. J. Carlesimo of Seton Hall became the first head coach with a beard to advance to the NCAA tournament's Final Four.[1]
- Steve Fisher of Michigan became the first head coach to win the NCAA title in his first year as a head coach.[1]
Major rule changes
Beginning in 1988–89, the following rules changes were implemented:
- Any player who participates in a fight is ejected from the game and placed on probation. If he participates in a second fight during the season, he is suspended for one game. If he participates in a third fight during the season, he is suspended for the rest of the season, including championship competition.[2]
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
See main article: 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
The top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[3]
Conference membership changes
Regular season
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
| Conference | Regular
season first place | Conference
player of the year | Conference
Coach of the Year | Conference
tournament | Tournament
venue (city) | Tournament
winner |
|---|
| | Randy White, Louisiana Tech | Al Barbre, &<br>Tim Floyd, New Orleans | 1989 American South Conference men's basketball tournament | Cajundome
(Lafayette, LA) | Louisiana Tech |
| SW Missouri State | Jay Taylor, | Charlie Spoonhour, SW Missouri State | 1989 AMCU-8 men's basketball tournament | Hammons Student Center
(Springfield, MO) | SW Missouri State |
| West Virginia | Mark Macon, | Bob Wenzel, Rutgers | 1989 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament | Rutgers Athletic Center
Piscataway, New Jersey | Rutgers |
| NC State | Danny Ferry, Duke | Jim Valvano, NC State | 1989 ACC men's basketball tournament | Omni Coliseum
Atlanta, Georgia | North Carolina |
| Georgetown | Charles Smith, Georgetown | P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall | 1989 Big East men's basketball tournament | Madison Square Garden
New York, New York | Georgetown |
| Oklahoma | Stacey King, Oklahoma | Billy Tubbs, Oklahoma | 1989 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament | Kemper Arena
Kansas City, Missouri | Missouri |
| Boise State & Idaho | Chris Childs, Idaho | Kermit Davis Jr., Idaho | 1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament | BSU Pavilion
Boise, Idaho | Idaho |
| Coastal Carolina | Henry Wilson, Campbell | Russ Bergman, Coastal Carolina | 1989 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament | Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, South Carolina | UNC Asheville |
| Indiana | Jay Edwards, Indiana
Glen Rice, Michigan | Bob Knight, Indiana | No Tournament |
| UNLV | Stacey Augmon, UNLV | Neil McCarthy, | 1989 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament | Long Beach Arena
Long Beach, California | UNLV |
| Richmond | Blue Edwards, East Carolina | Dick Tarrant, Richmond | 1989 CAA men's basketball tournament | Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, Virginia | George Mason |
| Bucknell | Kurk Lee, Towson State | | 1989 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament | Towson Center
Towson, Maryland | Bucknell |
| Princeton | Bob Scrabis, Princeton | Not named | No Tournament |
| Florida State | George McCloud, Florida State | Larry Finch, Memphis State | 1989 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament | Carolina Coliseum
Columbia, South Carolina | Louisville |
| La Salle | Lionel Simmons, La Salle | Ted Fiore, & La Salle | 1989 MAAC men's basketball tournament | Meadowlands Arena
East Rutherford, New Jersey | La Salle |
| Ball State | Paul Graham, Ohio | Rick Majerus, Ball State | 1989 MAC men's basketball tournament | John F. Savage Hall
Toledo, Ohio | Ball State |
| South Carolina State | Tom Davis, Delaware State | Cy McClairen, | 1989 MEAC men's basketball tournament | Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, North Carolina | South Carolina State |
| Evansville | Scott Haffner, Evansville | Jim Crews, Evansville | 1989 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournament | UD Arena
Dayton, Ohio | Xavier |
| Creighton | Anthony Manuel, | Tony Barone, Creighton | 1989 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Levitt Arena
Wichita, Kansas | Creighton |
| Siena | Jeff Robinson, Siena | Mike Deane, Siena | 1989 North Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament | Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, Connecticut | Siena |
| Robert Morris | Vaughn Luton, Robert Morris | Jarrett Durham, Robert Morris | 1989 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament | Charles L. Sewall Center
Moon Township, Pennsylvania | Robert Morris |
| Middle Tennessee & Murray State | Jeff Martin, Murray State | Bruce Stewart, Middle Tennessee | 1989 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Nashville Municipal Auditorium
Nashville, Tennessee | Middle Tennessee |
| Arizona | Sean Elliott, Arizona | | 1989 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament | Great Western Forum
Inglewood, California | Arizona |
| Florida | Chris Jackson, LSU | Wimp Sanderson, Alabama | 1989 SEC men's basketball tournament | Thompson–Boling Arena
Knoxville, Tennessee | Alabama |
| Chattanooga | John Taft, Marshall | Randy Nesbit, The Citadel | 1989 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Asheville Civic Center
Asheville, North Carolina | East Tennessee State |
| North Texas State | Deon Hunter, North Texas State | Jimmy Gales, North Texas State | 1989 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament | Super Pit
Denton, Texas | McNeese State |
| Arkansas | Travis Mays, Texas | Nolan Richardson, Arkansas | 1989 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament | Reunion Arena
Dallas, Texas | Arkansas |
| Grambling State, Southern, & Texas Southern | Terry Brooks, Alabama State | | 1989 SWAC men's basketball tournament | F. G. Clark Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Southern |
| South Alabama | Jeff Hodge, South Alabama | Ronnie Arrow, South Alabama | 1989 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament | Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte, North Carolina | South Alabama |
| Georgia Southern | Jeff Sanders, Georgia Southern | Mike Newell, Arkansas–Little Rock | 1989 TAAC men's basketball tournament | Barton Coliseum
Little Rock, Arkansas | Arkansas–Little Rock |
| Saint Mary's | Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount | Lynn Nance, Saint Mary's | 1989 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament | War Memorial Gymnasium
(San Francisco, CA) | Loyola Marymount |
| Colorado State | Tim Hardaway, UTEP | Riley Wallace, | 1989 WAC men's basketball tournament | Jon M. Huntsman Center
(Salt Lake City, UT) | UTEP | |
Conference standings
Division I independents
A total of 22 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Akron (21–8) had the best winning percentage (.724) and Akron, Notre Dame (21–9), and DePaul (21–12) finished with the most wins.[4]
Informal championships
La Salle and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
| | | | | | |
| Player | School | PPG | | Player | School | RPG | | Player | School | APG | | Player | School | BPG |
|---|
| | 32.7 | | Hank Gathers | Loyola Marymount | 13.7 | | | | 9.9 | | | | 5.0 |
| | 30.2 | | | | 13.2 | | | | 8.8 | | | | 4.1 |
| | 28.4 | | | | 12.2 | | | | 8.6 | | | | 3.8 |
| | 28.0 | | | | 12.0 | | | | 8.1 | | | Syracuse | 3.4 |
| | 26.7 | | | | 11.6 | | | | 8.0 | | | | 3.3 | |
Postseason tournaments
NCAA tournament
See main article: 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
(* – Denotes Overtime)
National Invitation tournament
See main article: 1989 National Invitation Tournament.
NIT Semifinals and Final
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
See main article: 1989 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
Major player of the year awards
Major freshman of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Notes and References
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 4.
- Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 965. 2009. 978-0-345-51392-2.
- Web site: 1988-89 Men's Independent Season Summary . . August 27, 2024.
- Web site: Eisenberg. Jeff. Twenty-five years ago, the Michigan team Bill Frieder built won a title without him . March 19, 2014. Yahoo Sports. May 8, 2021.
