1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1988–89 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his eleventh and final season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 9–19, 2–16 in SEC play. They lost to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC tournament.

1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	9–19 (2–16 SEC)
Head coach	Sonny Smith (11th season)
Home arena	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum

1988–89 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Florida	13	–	5		.722			21	–	13		.618
No. 20 Alabama †	12	–	6		.667			23	–	8		.742
Vanderbilt	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
LSU	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Tennessee	11	–	7		.611			19	–	11		.633
Kentucky	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Ole Miss	8	–	10		.444			15	–	15		.500
Mississippi State	7	–	11		.389			13	–	15		.464
Georgia	6	–	12		.333			15	–	16		.484
Auburn	2	–	16		.111			9	–	19		.321
† 1989 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The Tigers' season was beset with many problems. Junior forward John Caylor, expected to be a key contributor this season, was lost after five games due to a life-threatening blood clot in his shoulder.

Junior guard Derrick Dennison, another key contributor from last season, quit the team over a feud with Coach Smith about a reduced role, but later returned. Additionally, forward Kelvin Ardister, a junior-college transfer, and freshman guard Johnny Benjamin were both dismissed from the team after seven games for violating team rules. Prior to his dismissal, Benjamin had been arrested and imprisoned on two misdemeanor charges, criminal trespassing and third-degree theft of property, when he entered a student's off-campus apartment and took an undisclosed amount of money.

After the season, coach Sonny Smith resigned and took the head coaching position at VCU.

Roster

1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 22 John Caylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr Morristown West High School Talbott, Tennessee C 25 Matt Geiger 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) — So Countryside High School Clearwater, FL G 30 Keenan Carpenter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr Rutherfordton, Tennessee G 24 Derrick Dennison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia G 3 Kirt Hankton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr De LaSalle High School New Orleans, Louisiana G 12 Johnny Benjamin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr Central Florida Academy Orlando, Florida G 14 Reggie Gallon 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Fr Miami Edison High School Miami, Florida F 15 Kelvin Ardister 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Southwest DeKalb High School Decatur, Georgia G 20 Dustin Hester 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So Crestview High School Crestview, Alabama G 21 Ronnie Battle 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Chavala High School Pittsview, Alabama F 34 Robert McKie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So Miami Carol City High School Miami, Florida	Head coach Sonny Smith (Milligan) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and Results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1988*		Mount St. Mary's	W 89-83	1-0	Auburn, AL  Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Nov 29, 1988*		Georgia State	W 74-70	2-0	Auburn, AL  Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Dec 3, 1988*		Mercer	W 87-66	3-0	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 10, 1988*		Texas Southern	W 109-81	4-0	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 14, 1988		at Vanderbilt	L 77-93	4-1 (0-1)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
Dec 17, 1988*		Jackson State	W 74-51	5-1	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 20, 1988*		at Virginia Commonwealth	W 85-79	6-1	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, VA
Dec 28,1988*		vs. Villanova Red Lobster Classic	L 83-84	6-2	Orange County Civic Center  Orlando, FL
Dec 29, 1988*		at Central Florida Red Lobster Classic	W 95-68	7-2	Orange County Civic Center  Orlando, FL
Jan 4, 1989		No. 17 Tennessee	L 73-84	7-3 (0-2)	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Central.