See also: 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| 1989 NCAA tournament championship game | |
| Type: | ncg |
| Date: | April 3, 1989 |
| Year: | 1988-89 |
| Visitor School: | University of Michigan |
| Visitor Name Short: | Michigan |
| Visitor Nickname: | Wolverines |
| Visitor Record: | 29–7 |
| Visitor Conference: | Big Ten |
| Visitor Ap: | 10 |
| Visitor Coaches: | 10 |
| Visitor Coach: | Steve Fisher |
| Visitor Per1: | 37 |
| Visitor Per2: | 34 |
| Visitor Ot1: | 9 |
| Home School: | Seton Hall University |
| Home Name Short: | Seton Hall |
| Home Nickname: | Pirates |
| Home Record: | 31–6 |
| Home Conference: | Big East |
| Home Ap: | 11 |
| Home Coaches: | 11 |
| Home Coach: | P.J. Carlesimo |
| Home Per1: | 32 |
| Home Per2: | 39 |
| Home Ot1: | 8 |
| Arena: | Kingdome |
| City: | Seattle, Washington |
| Attendance: | 39,187 |
| Referee: | Mickey Crowley, Tom Rucker, John Clougherty |
| Mvp: | Glen Rice, Michigan |
| Odds: | Seton Hall by 2.5 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers: | Brent Musburger (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color) |
| Previous: | 1988 |
| Next: | 1990 |
The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final round of the 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. It determined the national champion for the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, and was contested by the Southeast Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten and the West Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Seton Hall Pirates of the Big East. Both teams were seeking their first national title. The game was played on April 3, 1989, at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington.
Michigan defeated Seton Hall, 80–79 in OT,[1] to claim their first national championship in basketball. It was also the first title for interim head coach Steve Fisher. Wolverine senior forward Glen Rice was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) as he established the tournament scoring record with 184 points.
See main article: article and 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team.
See main article: article and 1988–89 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team.
| Michigan | Position | Seton Hall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Gerald Greene | |||||||
| Mike Griffin | G | John Morton 1 | ||||||
| Glen Rice 1 | F | Andrew Gaze | ||||||
| F | Daryll Walker | |||||||
| C | Ramón Ramos | - | † --> | |||||
Michigan trailed by three, 79–76, with less than a minute remaining in overtime when Terry Mills hit a turnaround 11-footer to cut the Seton Hall lead to 79–78. After a defensive stop, the Pirates' Gerald Greene was controversially called for a foul on Rumeal Robinson with three seconds left in overtime. Robinson made both free throws, and, after Seton Hall's last-second shot came up short, Michigan won its first national championship.[3]
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While Michigan and Seton Hall experienced regular season and postseason success in the following years, 1989 marked a high point for both teams. To date, this remains the only championship won by the Wolverines, while this is the only appearance in the championship game for the Pirates. Since 1989, the closest Seton Hall got to another Final Four was the Elite Eight in 1991, where they lost to then-undefeated UNLV. Michigan would make four more appearances in the national championship game after this in 1992, 1993, 2013, and 2018 (the former two were later vacated by the NCAA), and the Wolverines would lose all four, bringing their record in the championship game to 1–6, the worst record among teams that have previously won a championship.