1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

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.

1989 NCAA tournament championship game
National championship game
Michigan Wolverines Seton Hall Pirates
Big Ten Big East
(29–7) (31–6)
80 79
Head coach:
Steve Fisher
Head coach:
P.J. Carlesimo
1st half2nd halfOT Total
Michigan Wolverines 37349 80
Seton Hall Pirates 32398 79
DateApril 3, 1989
VenueKingdome, Seattle, Washington
MVPGlen Rice, Michigan
FavoriteSeton Hall by 2.5
RefereesMickey Crowley, Tom Rucker, John Clougherty
Attendance39,187
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersBrent Musburger (play-by-play)
Billy Packer (color)
← 1988
1990 →

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.

Participating teams edit

Michigan Wolverines edit

First round vs. #14 Xavier edit

NCAA Productions
ESPN
Friday, March 17
12:07 PM EST
#3 Michigan Wolverines 92, #14 Xavier Musketeers 87
Pts: G. Rice, R. Robinson - 23
Rebs: M. Hughes - 10
Asts: R. Robinson - 8
Pts: T. Hill - 21
Rebs: D. Strong - 10
Asts: J. Walker - 9
Halftime Score: Xavier, 45-42
Omni Coliseum - Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 12,349
Referees: Nick Borucki, Dave Libbey, Bob Barnett

Second Round vs. #11 South Alabama edit

CBS
Sunday, March 19
2:20 PM EST
#3 Michigan Wolverines 91, #11 South Alabama Jaguars 82
Pts: G. Rice - 36
Rebs: G. Rice - 8
Asts: D. Calip, T. Mills, G. Rice, R. Robinson - 5
Pts: J. Lewis - 25
Rebs: G. Estaba, J. Lewis - 9
Asts: T. Brodnick - 6
Halftime Score: South Alabama, 47-44
Omni Coliseum - Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 12,821
Referees: Dave Libbey, Gene Monje, Bob Barnett

Regional semifinals vs. #2 North Carolina edit

CBS
Thursday, March 23
approx. 10:11 PM EST
#3 Michigan Wolverines 92, #2 North Carolina Tar Heels 87
Pts: G. Rice - 34
Rebs: M. Hughes, T. Mills, G. Rice, L. Vaught - 6
Asts: R. Robinson - 13
Pts: J.R. Reid - 26
Rebs: S. Bucknall - 7
Asts: S. Bucknall - 10
Halftime Score: Michigan, 50-47
Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY
Attendance: 22,314
Referees: Don Rutledge, Tom Scott, Wally Tanner

Regional finals vs. #5 Virginia edit

CBS
Saturday, March 25
1:58 PM EST
#3 Michigan Wolverines 102, #5 Virginia Cavaliers 65
Pts: G. Rice - 32
Rebs: L. Vaught - 9
Asts: R. Robinson - 7
Pts: R. Morgan - 15
Rebs: B. Dabbs - 12
Asts: J. Crotty - 7
Halftime Score: Michigan, 44-25
Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY
Attendance: 22,755
Referees: Mickey Crowley, Jim Burr, Frank Bosone

Final Four vs. #1 Illinois edit

CBS
Saturday, April, 1
approx. 5:12 PM PST/8:12 PM EST
#SE3 Michigan Wolverines 83, #MW1 Illinois Fighting Illini 81
Pts: G. Rice - 28
Rebs: L. Vaught - 16
Asts: R. Robinson - 12
Pts: K. Battle - 29
Rebs: L. Hamilton - 9
Asts: S. Bardo - 8
Halftime Score: Michigan, 39-38
Kingdome - Seattle, WA
Attendance: 39,187
Referees: Ted Hillary, David Jones, Tom Harrington

Seton Hall Pirates edit

First round vs. #14 Southwest Missouri State edit

NCAA Productions
ESPN
Friday, March 17
approx. 2:37 PM MST/4:37 PM EST
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 60, #14 Southwest Missouri State Bears 51
Pts: J. Morton - 26
Rebs: D. Walker - 6
Asts: A. Gaze - 4
Pts: H. Henderson - 18
Rebs: H. Henderson - 6
Asts: D. Lewis - 6
Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 30-23
McKale Center - Tucson, AZ
Attendance: 12,787
Referees: Don Shea, Allie Prescott, Jim Loustaldt

Second Round vs. #11 Evansville edit

CBS
Sunday, March 19
12:25 PM MST/2:25 PM EST
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 87, #11 Evansville Aces 73
Pts: J. Morton - 17
Rebs: R. Ramos, D. Walker - 10
Asts: G. Greene, P. Wigington - 5
Pts: S. Haffner - 20
Rebs: D. Godfread - 6
Asts: R. Crafton - 7
Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 49-41
McKale Center - Tucson, AZ
Attendance: 13,391
Referees: John Moreau, Sid Rodeheffer, Mark DiStaolo

Regional semifinals vs. #2 Indiana edit

CBS
Thursday, March 23
6:09 PM MST/8:09 PM EST
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 78, #2 Indiana Hoosiers 65
Pts: J. Morton - 17
Rebs: D. Walker - 10
Asts: G. Greene - 5
Pts: J. Edwards - 18
Rebs: E. Anderson - 6
Asts: J. Hillman, L. Jones - 3
Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 42-33
McNichols Sports Arena - Denver, CO
Attendance: 16,813
Referees: Jody Sylvester, Dave Libbey, David Bair

Regional finals vs. #4 UNLV edit

CBS
Saturday, March 25
2:05 PM MST/4:05 PM EST
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 84, #4 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 61
Pts: A. Gaze - 19
Rebs: D. Walker - 15
Asts: G. Greene - 3
Pts: G. Anthony - 16
Rebs: M. Scurry - 14
Asts: G. Anthony - 4
Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 34-30
McNichols Sports Arena - Denver, CO
Attendance: 16,813
Referees: Lenny Wirtz, David Dodge, Larry Rose

Final Four vs. #2 Duke edit

CBS
Saturday, April 1
2:42 PM PST/5:42 PM EST
#W3 Seton Hall Pirates 95, #E2 Duke Blue Devils 78
Pts: A. Gaze - 20
Rebs: R. Ramos - 12
Asts: G. Greene - 8
Pts: D. Ferry - 34
Rebs: D. Ferry - 10
Asts: P. Henderson - 5
Halftime Score: Duke, 38-33
Kingdome - Seattle, WA
Attendance: 39,187
Referees: Larry Lembo, Don Rutledge, Ed Hightower

Starting lineups edit

Michigan Position Seton Hall
Rumeal Robinson G Gerald Greene
Mike Griffin G John Morton 1
Glen Rice 1 F Andrew Gaze
Loy Vaught F Daryll Walker
Terry Mills C Ramón Ramos
 Players selected in the 1989 NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source[2]

Game summary edit

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]

CBS
Monday, April 3, 1989
6:12 PM PDT/9:12 PM EDT
#SE3 Michigan Wolverines 80, #W3 Seton Hall Pirates 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 37–32, 34–39 Overtime: 9–8
Pts: G. Rice - 34
Rebs: G. Rice - 11
Asts: R. Robinson - 11
Pts: J. Morton - 35
Rebs: D. Walker - 11
Asts: G. Greene - 5
Kingdome - Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 39,187
Referees: Mickey Crowley, Tom Rucker, John Clougherty
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
G 21 Rumeal Robinson 21 3 11
G 11 Mike Griffin 0 4 3
F 41 Glen Rice 31 11 0
F 35 Loy Vaught 8 7 0
C 52 Terry Mills 8 6 2
Reserves:
G/F 24 Sean Higgins 10 9 2
C 55 Mark Hughes 2 2 0
G 13 Demetrius Calip 0 0 1
Head coach:
Steve Fisher
 
 
 
 
Michigan
 
 
 
 
Seton Hall

0

Michigan Statistics Seton Hall
30/67 (45%) Field goals 28/65 (43%)
6/16 (38%) 3-pt. field goals 7/23 (30%)
14/16 (88%) Free throws 16/22 (73%)
11 Offensive rebounds 7
31 Defensive rebounds 27
42 Total rebounds 34
19 Assists 14
14 Turnovers 11
3 Steals 4
4 Blocks 2
16 Fouls 23
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
G 15 Gerald Greene 13 5 5
G 24 Daryll Walker 13 11 1
F 10 Andrew Gaze 5 3 3
F 23 John Morton 35 4 3
C 25 Ramón Ramos 9 5 1
Reserves:
F 31 Mike Cooper 0 2 0
F 32 Anthony Avent 2 3 1
G 30 Frantz Volcy 0 1 0
C 4 Pookey Wigington 2 0 0
Head coach:
P. J. Carlesimo

Aftermath edit

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, 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.

References edit

  1. ^ "Michigan Works Overtime, but It's Worth It". The New York Times. April 4, 1989. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Seton Hall vs. Michigan Box Score, April 3, 1989". Sports Reference. April 3, 1989. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "20th Anniversary - Michigan Basketball - 1989 NCAA national champions" (PDF). University of Michigan. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2022.