The 1988–89 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the
University of Oklahoma in competitive
college basketball during the
1988–89 NCAA Division I season. The
Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the
Lloyd Noble Center
The Lloyd Noble Center is a 10,967-seat multi-purpose arena located in Norman, Oklahoma, some south of downtown Oklahoma City. It opened in 1975 and is home to the University of Oklahoma men's and women's basketball teams.
History
Before the co ...
and was a member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
at that time. The team posted a 30–6 overall record and a 12–2 conference record to earn the Conference title under
head coach Billy Tubbs. This was the fourth Big Eight Conference regular season Championship for Tubbs and his second in a row.
The team was led by two future
1989 NBA draft
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...
first round selections
Stacey King
Ronald Stacey King (born January 29, 1967) is an American sports announcer and retired National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993. King is currently the lead col ...
and
Mookie Blaylock who were both selected as
1989 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans The Consensus 1989 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, t ...
.
The team won two of its three games at the 1988
Maui Invitational Tournament where it faced three ranked opponents: #16 , #4
UNLV and #3
Michigan who defeated them and eventually won the
1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
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 championsh ...
. The team then won 11 games in a row before losing to unranked
Pitt
Pitt most commonly refers to:
*The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
**Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh
* Pitt (surname), a surname o ...
. The team then won five in a row including victories over #16
Kansas and then #13 UNLV before losing to unranked . The Sooners, who were ranked in the top 10 all season and the top 5 for the entire 1989 part of its schedule, then won six more in a row including back to back wins against #3
Missouri and #1
Arizona.
#7 Missouri ended the streak and gave Oklahoma its final regular season loss. Oklahoma won its final two regular season games and first two Big Eight tournament games before losing its rubber match against #10 Missouri in the championship game. The team earned a second consecutive #1 seed for the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
where it advanced to the sweet sixteen before losing to
Virginia.
Mookie Blaylock established the current
Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball single-season minutes played (1359) and career
steals (281) records.
[ His career steals per game record (3.8) stood as a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball record for 13 seasons.] He also tied his own NCAA single-game steals record (13).[ ]Stacey King
Ronald Stacey King (born January 29, 1967) is an American sports announcer and retired National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993. King is currently the lead col ...
set the current Sooners single-season free throws made (211) record.[ King also set the Big Eight career ]blocked shot
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...
s record (228).[ Tyrone Jones became the first Sooner to make 6 consecutive ]three point shot
A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two po ...
s (a record since tied by 4 other Sooners). The team holds the Sooner record with 20 100-point games.
Roster
Schedule and results
, -
!colspan=9, Regular season
, -
!colspan=9, Big Eight Conference tournament
, -
!colspan=9, NCAA tournament
NCAA basketball tournament
The following is a summary of the team's performance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
:
*Southeast
** Oklahoma (1) 72, East Tennessee State
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a Public university, public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an instit ...
(16) 71
**Oklahoma 124, Louisiana Tech (9) 81
** Virginia (5) 86, Oklahoma 80 (Sweet 16)
Honors
* All-American: Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King
Ronald Stacey King (born January 29, 1967) is an American sports announcer and retired National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993. King is currently the lead col ...
(2nd selection)
* Big Eight POY: King
Team players drafted into the NBA
The following players were drafted in the 1989 NBA draft
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...
:
See also
* Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
* List of Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball conference championships
*1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
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 championsh ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball Team
Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball seasons
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...