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. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 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.
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
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
(* – Denotes Overtime)