1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

See also: 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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
AP: 10 Coaches: 10 AP: 11 Coaches: 11
1st half 2nd half OT Total Michigan Wolverines 37 34 9 80 Seton Hall Pirates 32 39 8 79
Date	April 3, 1989
Venue	Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
MVP	Glen Rice, Michigan
Favorite	Seton Hall by 2.5
Referees	Mickey Crowley, Tom Rucker, John Clougherty
Attendance	39,187
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Brent 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

Michigan Wolverines

Main article: 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

First round vs. #14 Xavier

NCAA Productions ESPN

Friday, March 17 12:07 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Sunday, March 19 2:20 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Thursday, March 23 approx. 10:11 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Saturday, March 25 1:58 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Saturday, April, 1 approx. 5:12 PM PST/8:12 PM EST

box score

#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

Main article: 1988–89 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team

First round vs. #14 Southwest Missouri State

NCAA Productions ESPN

Friday, March 17 approx. 2:37 PM MST/4:37 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Sunday, March 19 12:25 PM MST/2:25 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Thursday, March 23 6:09 PM MST/8:09 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Saturday, March 25 2:05 PM MST/4:05 PM EST

box score

#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

CBS

Saturday, April 1 2:42 PM PST/5:42 PM EST

box score

#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

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

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

box score

#SE3 Michigan Wolverines 80, #W3 Seton Hall Pirates 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 37–32, 34–39 Overtime: 9–8
Pts: Glen Rice - 34 Rebs: Glen Rice - 11 Asts: Rumeal Robinson - 11		Pts: John Morton - 35 Rebs: Daryll Walker - 11 Asts: Gerald 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

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 (the former two were later vacated by the NCAA), 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

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.