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. All the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the NCAA tournament advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" for the first time. 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. Steve Fisher of Michigan became the first head coach to win the NCAA title in his first year as a head coach.
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.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.* Associated PressRankingTeam1 Duke2 Georgetown3 Michigan4 Louisville5 Oklahoma6 North Carolina7 Iowa8 Syracuse9 Illinois10 UNLV11 Arizona12 13 Georgia Tech14 Missouri15 Florida16 Florida State17 18 NC State19 20 Stanford UPI CoachesRankingTeam1 Duke2 Michigan3 North Carolina4 Georgetown5 Illinois6 Oklahoma7 UNLV8 Syracuse9 Iowa10 Louisville11 Arizona12 13 Missouri14 Florida 15 16 Georgia Tech17 Indiana18 Florida State19 Stanford 20 NC State
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Southern Conference NCAA Division I independent NCAA Division I independent Midwestern Collegiate Conference Mason–Dixon Conference (D-II) NCAA Division I independent Mason–Dixon Conference (D-II) NCAA Division I independent NCAA Division II independent NCAA Division I independent Ohio Valley Conference NCAA Division I independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season first placeConference player of the yearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winner American South Conference Randy White, Louisiana Tech Al Barbre, &Tim Floyd, New Orleans 1989 American South Conference men's basketball tournament Cajundome(Lafayette, LA) Louisiana Tech Association of Mid-Continent Universities 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 Atlantic 10 Conference West Virginia Mark Macon, Bob Wenzel, Rutgers 1989 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament Rutgers Athletic CenterPiscataway, New Jersey Rutgers Atlantic Coast Conference NC State Danny Ferry, Duke Jim Valvano, NC State 1989 ACC men's basketball tournament Omni ColiseumAtlanta, Georgia North Carolina Big East Conference Georgetown Charles Smith, Georgetown P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall 1989 Big East men's basketball tournament Madison Square GardenNew York, New York Georgetown Big Eight Conference Oklahoma Stacey King, Oklahoma Billy Tubbs, Oklahoma 1989 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper ArenaKansas City, Missouri Missouri Big Sky Conference Boise State & Idaho Chris Childs, Idaho Kermit Davis Jr., Idaho 1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament BSU PavilionBoise, Idaho Idaho Big South Conference Coastal Carolina Henry Wilson, Campbell Russ Bergman, Coastal Carolina 1989 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament Winthrop ColiseumRock Hill, South Carolina UNC Asheville Big Ten Conference Indiana Jay Edwards, IndianaGlen Rice, Michigan Bob Knight, IndianaNo Tournament Big West Conference UNLV Stacey Augmon, UNLV Neil McCarthy, 1989 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament Long Beach ArenaLong Beach, California UNLV Colonial Athletic Association Richmond Blue Edwards, East Carolina Dick Tarrant, Richmond 1989 CAA men's basketball tournament Hampton ColiseumHampton, Virginia George Mason East Coast Conference Bucknell Kurk Lee, Towson State 1989 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Towson CenterTowson, Maryland Bucknell Ivy League Princeton Bob Scrabis, Princeton Not namedNo Tournament Metro Conference Florida State George McCloud, Florida State Larry Finch, Memphis State 1989 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Carolina ColiseumColumbia, South Carolina Louisville Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference La Salle Lionel Simmons, La Salle Ted Fiore, & La Salle 1989 MAAC men's basketball tournament Meadowlands ArenaEast Rutherford, New Jersey La Salle Mid-American Conference Ball State Paul Graham, Ohio Rick Majerus, Ball State 1989 MAC men's basketball tournament John F. Savage HallToledo, Ohio Ball State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference South Carolina State Tom Davis, Delaware State Cy McClairen, 1989 MEAC men's basketball tournament Greensboro ColiseumGreensboro, North Carolina South Carolina State Midwestern Collegiate Conference Evansville Scott Haffner, Evansville Jim Crews, Evansville 1989 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournament UD ArenaDayton, Ohio Xavier Missouri Valley Conference Creighton Anthony Manuel, Tony Barone, Creighton 1989 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Levitt ArenaWichita, Kansas Creighton North Atlantic Conference Siena Jeff Robinson, Siena Mike Deane, Siena 1989 North Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut Siena Northeast Conference Robert Morris Vaughn Luton, Robert Morris Jarrett Durham, Robert Morris 1989 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament Charles L. Sewall CenterMoon Township, Pennsylvania Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference Middle Tennessee & Murray State Jeff Martin, Murray State Bruce Stewart, Middle Tennessee 1989 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Nashville Municipal AuditoriumNashville, Tennessee Middle Tennessee Pacific-10 Conference Arizona Sean Elliott, Arizona Lute Olson, Arizona, &Ralph Miller, Oregon State 1989 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament Great Western ForumInglewood, California Arizona Southeastern Conference Florida Chris Jackson, LSU Wimp Sanderson, Alabama 1989 SEC men's basketball tournament Thompson–Boling ArenaKnoxville, Tennessee Alabama Southern Conference Chattanooga John Taft, Marshall Randy Nesbit, The Citadel 1989 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Asheville Civic CenterAsheville, North Carolina East Tennessee State Southland Conference North Texas State Deon Hunter, North Texas State Jimmy Gales, North Texas State 1989 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament Super PitDenton, Texas McNeese State Southwest Conference Arkansas Travis Mays, Texas Nolan Richardson, Arkansas 1989 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament Reunion ArenaDallas, Texas Arkansas Southwestern Athletic Conference Grambling State, Southern, & Texas Southern Terry Brooks, Alabama State 1989 SWAC men's basketball tournament F. G. Clark CenterBaton Rouge, Louisiana Southern Sun Belt Conference South Alabama Jeff Hodge, South Alabama Ronnie Arrow, South Alabama 1989 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte ColiseumCharlotte, North Carolina South Alabama Trans America Athletic Conference Georgia Southern Jeff Sanders, Georgia Southern Mike Newell, Arkansas–Little Rock 1989 TAAC men's basketball tournament Barton ColiseumLittle Rock, Arkansas Arkansas–Little Rock West Coast Athletic Conference 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 Western Athletic Conference 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 23 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.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 La Salle & Temple Lionel Simmons, La Salle 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 Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount 32.7 Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount 13.7 Glenn Williams Holy Cross 9.9 Alonzo Mourning Georgetown 5.0 Chris Jackson LSU 30.2 Carl Herrera Jacksonville 13.2 Chris Corchiani NC State 8.8 Duane Causwell Temple 4.1 Lionel Simmons La Salle 28.4 Tyrone Hill Xavier 12.2 Sherman Douglas Syracuse 8.6 Alan Ogg UAB 3.8 Gerald Glass Ole Miss 28.0 Ron Draper American 12.0 Gary Payton Oregon State 8.1 Derrick Coleman Syracuse 3.4 Blue Edwards East Carolina 26.7 Daryl Battles Southern 11.6 Anthony Manuel Bradley 8.0 Eric Murdock Providence 3.3
Postseason tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four - Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
(* – Denotes Overtime)
National Invitation tournament
NIT Semifinals and Final
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Sean Elliott F Senior Arizona Pervis Ellison C Senior Louisville Danny Ferry F Senior Duke Chris Jackson G Freshman Louisiana State Stacey King C Senior Oklahoma
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Mookie Blaylock G Senior Oklahoma Sherman Douglas G Senior Syracuse Jay Edwards G Sophomore Indiana Todd Lichti G Senior Stanford Glen Rice F Senior Michigan Lionel Simmons F Junior La Salle
Major player of the year awards
Wooden Award: Sean Elliott, Arizona Naismith Award: Danny Ferry, Duke Associated Press Player of the Year: Sean Elliott, Arizona UPI Player of the Year: Danny Ferry, Duke NABC Player of the Year: Sean Elliott, Arizona Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Danny Ferry, Duke Adolph Rupp Trophy: Sean Elliott, Arizona Sporting News Player of the Year: Stacey King, Oklahoma
Major freshman of the year awards USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Chris Jackson, LSU
Major coach of the year awards Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana UPI Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Bob Knight, Indiana NABC Coach of the Year: P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall Naismith College Coach of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Lute Olson, Arizona Sporting News Coach of the Year: P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall
Other major awards Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Tim Hardaway, UTEP Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Lionel Simmons, La Salle NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): John Morton, Seton Hall
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.