The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 51st annual edition of the tournament began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. A total of 63 games were played.
Michigan, coached by Steve Fisher, won the national title with an 80–79 overtime victory in the final game over Seton Hall, coached by P. J. Carlesimo. Glen Rice of Michigan set an NCAA tournament record by scoring 184 points in six games and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was Michigan's last national championship until 2026.
Just prior to the start of this tournament, Michigan coach Bill Frieder had announced that he would accept the head coaching position at Arizona State University at the end of the season. Michigan athletic director Bo Schembechler promptly fired Frieder and appointed top assistant Fisher as interim coach, stating famously, that "a Michigan man is going to coach a Michigan team."
Two 16-seeded teams came within one point of victory in the first round (Georgetown vs. Princeton, Oklahoma vs. East Tennessee State), and a third came within six points. This tournament was also unusual in that all four 11-seeds advanced out of the first round.
The 1989 Tournament was the second one since 1980, with 1987 being the first, in which the defending national champion did not participate in the tournament. Kansas, winner of the 1988 NCAA title, had been placed on probation for violations committed by former coach Larry Brown and was barred from the tournament. Brown left Kansas immediately after winning the national championship to return to coaching in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, leaving first-year coach Roy Williams to coach the team. It is the only time the Jayhawks have missed the NCAA tournament from 1984 to the present day. The defending champion would not be left out of the next year's tournament again until 2008. The tournament was notable for the poor performance of the SEC. After traditional stalwart Kentucky missed the postseason after experiencing its first losing season since 1927, none of the five SEC teams won a game in the tournament.
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1989 tournament, and their hosts:
First and Second Rounds March 16 and 18 East Region Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) Midwest Region Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference) Southeast Region Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University) West Region BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University) March 17 and 19 East Region Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) Midwest Region Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Host: Southwest Conference) Southeast Region Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech) West Region McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 23 and 25 Southeast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) West Regional, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: University of Colorado Boulder, Big 8 Conference) March 24 and 26 East Regional, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference) Midwest Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 1 and 3 Kingdome, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)
Teams
+ Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East 1 Georgetown Big East Elite Eight2 DukeL 85–77 East 2 Duke Atlantic Coast Final Four3 Seton HallL 95–78 East 3 Stanford Pacific-10 Round of 6414 SienaL 80–78 East 4 Iowa Big Ten Round of 325 NC StateL 102–96 East 5 NC State Atlantic Coast Sweet Sixteen1 GeorgetownL 69–61 East 6 Kansas State Big Eight Round of 6411 MinnesotaL 86–75 East 7 West Virginia Atlantic 10 Round of 322 DukeL 70–63 East 8 Vanderbilt Southeastern Round of 649 Notre DameL 81–65 East 9 Notre Dame Independent Round of 321 GeorgetownL 81–74 East 10 Tennessee Southeastern Round of 647 West VirginiaL 84–68 East 11 Minnesota Big Ten Sweet Sixteen2 DukeL 87–70 East 12 South Carolina Metro Round of 645 NC StateL 81–66 East 13 Rutgers Atlantic 10 Round of 644 IowaL 87–73 East 14 Siena North Atlantic Round of 3211 MinnesotaL 80–67 East 15 South Carolina State Mid-Eastern Round of 642 DukeL 90–69 East 16 Princeton Ivy League Round of 641 GeorgetownL 50–49 Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score Midwest 1 Illinois Big Ten Final Four3 MichiganL 83–81 Midwest 2 Syracuse Big East Elite Eight1 IllinoisL 89–86 Midwest 3 Missouri Big Eight Sweet Sixteen2 SyracuseL 83–80 Midwest 4 Louisville Metro Sweet Sixteen1 IllinoisL 83–69 Midwest 5 Arkansas Southwest Round of 324 LouisvilleL 93–84 Midwest 6 Georgia Tech Atlantic Coast Round of 6411 TexasL 76–70 Midwest 7 Florida Southeastern Round of 6410 Colorado StateL 68–46 Midwest 8 Pittsburgh Big East Round of 649 Ball StateL 68–64 Midwest 9 Ball State Mid-American Round of 321 IllinoisL 72–60 Midwest 10 Colorado State Western Athletic Round of 322 SyracuseL 65–50 Midwest 11 Texas Southwest Round of 323 MissouriL 108–89 Midwest 12 Loyola Marymount West Coast Round of 645 ArkansasL 120–101 Midwest 13 Arkansas–Little Rock Trans America Round of 644 LouisvilleL 76–71 Midwest 14 Creighton Missouri Valley Round of 643 MissouriL 85–69 Midwest 15 Bucknell East Coast Round of 642 SyracuseL 104–81 Midwest 16 McNeese State Southland Round of 641 IllinoisL 77–71 Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score Southeast 1 Oklahoma Big Eight Sweet Sixteen5 VirginiaL 86–80 Southeast 2 North Carolina Atlantic Coast Sweet Sixteen3 MichiganL 92–87 Southeast 3 Michigan Big Ten Champion3 Seton HallW 80–79 Southeast 4 Florida State Metro Round of 6413 Middle TennesseeL 97–83 Southeast 5 Virginia Atlantic Coast Elite Eight3 MichiganL 102–65 Southeast 6 Alabama Southeastern Round of 6411 South AlabamaL 86–84 Southeast 7 UCLA Pacific-10 Round of 322 North CarolinaL 88–81 Southeast 8 La Salle Metro Atlantic Round of 649 Louisiana TechL 83–74 Southeast 9 Louisiana Tech American South Round of 321 OklahomaL 124–81 Southeast 10 Iowa State Big Eight Round of 647 UCLAL 84–74 Southeast 11 South Alabama Sun Belt Round of 323 MichiganL 91–82 Southeast 12 Providence Big East Round of 645 VirginiaL 100–97 Southeast 13 Middle Tennessee Ohio Valley Round of 325 VirginiaL 104–88 Southeast 14 Xavier Midwestern Round of 643 MichiganL 92–87 Southeast 15 Southern Southwest Athletic Round of 642 North CarolinaL 93–79 Southeast 16 East Tennessee State Southern Round of 641 OklahomaL 72–71 Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score West 1 Arizona Pacific-10 Sweet Sixteen4 UNLVL 68–67 West 2 Indiana Big Ten Sweet Sixteen3 Seton HallL 78–65 West 3 Seton Hall Big East Runner Up3 MichiganL 80–79 West 4 UNLV Big West Elite Eight3 Seton HallL 84–61 West 5 Memphis State Metro Round of 6412 DePaulL 66–63 West 6 Oregon State Pacific-10 Round of 6411 EvansvilleL 94–90 West 7 UTEP Western Athletic Round of 322 IndianaL 92–69 West 8 Saint Mary's West Coast Round of 649 ClemsonL 83–70 West 9 Clemson Atlantic Coast Round of 321 ArizonaL 94–68 West 10 LSU Southeastern Round of 647 UTEPL 85–74 West 11 Evansville Missouri Valley Round of 323 Seton HallL 87–73 West 12 DePaul Independent Round of 324 UNLVL 85–70 West 13 Idaho Big Sky Round of 644 UNLVL 68–56 West 14 Southwest Missouri State Mid-Continent Round of 643 Seton HallL 60–51 West 15 George Mason Colonial Round of 642 IndianaL 99–85 West 16 Robert Morris Northeast Round of 641 ArizonaL 94–60
Bracket * – Denotes overtime period
East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey
First round summary
Second round summary
Regional Semi-final summary
Regional Final summary
West Regional – Denver, Colorado
First round summary
Second round summary
Regional Semi-final summary
Regional Final summary
Southeast Regional – Lexington, Kentucky
First round summary
Second round summary
Regional Semi-final summary
Regional Final summary
Midwest Regional – Minneapolis
First round summary
Second round summary
Regional Semi-final summary
Regional Final summary
Final Four – Seattle
Game summaries
National Championship
Announcers
Television CBS Sports Jim Nantz & James Brown served as studio hosts. Brent Musburger and Billy Packer – first round (DePaul–Memphis State) at Boise, Idaho; second round at Indianapolis, Indiana and Atlanta, Georgia; East Regionals at East Rutherford, New Jersey; Final Four at Seattle, Washington Dick Stockton and Bill Raftery – second round at Greensboro, North Carolina and Dallas, Texas; West Regionals at Denver, Colorado Tim Brant and Len Elmore – second round at Boise, Idaho; Southeast Regionals at Lexington, Kentucky Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn – first round (Louisiana State–UTEP) and Second Round at Tucson, Arizona; Midwest Regionals at Minneapolis, Minnesota Steve Zabriskie and Curry Kirkpatrick – second round at Nashville, Tennessee Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner – second round at Providence, Rhode Island ESPN and NCAA Productions Tim Brando (NCAA Tournament Today) and John Saunders (NCAA Tournament Tonight) served as studio hosts and Dick Vitale served as studio analyst. Bob Carpenter and Quinn Buckner – first round (South Carolina–North Carolina State) & (Notre Dame–Vanderbilt) at Providence, Rhode Island Mike Gorman and Ron Perry – first round (Rutgers–Iowa) & (Princeton–Georgetown) at Providence, Rhode Island Mike Patrick and Dan Bonner – first round (Minnesota–Kansas State) & (South Carolina State–Duke) at Greensboro, North Carolina Bob Rathbun and Bucky Waters – first round (Siena–Stanford) & (Tennessee–West Virginia) at Greensboro, North Carolina Tom Hammond and Clark Kellogg – first round (UALR–Louisville) & (Ball State–Pittsburgh) at Indianapolis, Indiana Mick Hubert and Jim Gibbons – first round (Loyola Marymount–Arkansas) & (McNeese State–Illinois) at Indianapolis, Indiana Ron Franklin and Billy King – first round (Texas–Georgia Tech) at Dallas, Texas Frank Fallon and Bob Ortegel – first round (Colorado State–Florida), (Creighton–Missouri), & (Syracuse–Bucknell) at Dallas, Texas Wayne Larrivee and Jack Givens – first round (Louisiana Tech–LaSalle) & (Middle Tennessee State–Florida State) at Nashville, Tennessee John Sanders and Gary Thompson – first round (East Tennessee State–Oklahoma) & (Providence–Virginia) at Nashville, Tennessee Ralph Hacker and Dan Belluomini – first round (Xavier–Michigan) & (Iowa State–UCLA) at Atlanta, Georgia Fred White and Larry Conley – first round (South Alabama–Alabama) & (Southern–North Carolina) at Atlanta, Georgia Brad Nessler and Irv Brown – first round (Robert Morris–Arizona) & (Idaho–UNLV) at Boise, Idaho Ted Robinson and Mike Pratt– first round (Clemson–Saint Mary's) at Boise, Idaho Pete Solomon and Bob Elliott – first round (Evansville–Oregon State) at Tucson, Arizona Barry Tompkins and Bruce Larson – first round (SW Missouri State–Seton Hall) & (George Mason–Indiana) at Tucson, Arizona
Radio
First and second rounds CBS Radio
Regionals – East Regionals at East Rutherford, New Jersey – Midwest Regionals at Minneapolis, Minnesota – Southeast Regionals at Lexington, Kentucky Ted Robinson and – West Regionals at Denver, Colorado
Final Four – at Seattle, Washington
RegionSeedTeamsFlagship stationPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst(s)West3Seton HallWPAT–AM 930
Legacy