The 1988–89 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

during the 1988–89 NCAA men's basketball season. They were coached by

Norm Sloan Norman Leslie Sloan Jr. (June 25, 1926 – December 9, 2003) was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan was a native of Indiana and played college basketball and football at North Carolina State University. He began a long career a ...

, who was in his ninth consecutive (and final) season at the school. The Gators were ranked in the AP preseason poll for only the second time in program history despite the loss of both starting guards from the previous season,

Vernon Maxwell Vernon Maxwell (born September 12, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for thirteen seasons during the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Maxwell play ...

and Ronnie Montgomery. They were expected to be led by steady senior guard

Clifford Lett Clifford Earl Lett (born December 23, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Pensacola, Florida, he played briefly in the NBA in the early 1990s, and played as a 6'3" (1.90 m) and 170 lb (77 kg) guard. ...

and star

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Dwayne Schintzius Dwayne Kenneth Schintzius (October 14, 1968 – April 15, 2012) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player. He was born in Brandon, Florida and attended the University of Florida, where he helped lead the Florida Gat ...

, but while Lett stepped into his new starting role with aplomb, Schintzius was suspended four games for getting involved in an altercation outside a Gainesville nightclub in which he allegedly wielded a tennis racket. Schintzius' temporary absence contributed to a disappointing start to the season, and the Gators' record stood at 5-7 after losing their first conference game in early January. However, the team improved markedly from that low point, with the turnaround beginning during a key conference road game at Vanderbilt. Florida committed a turnover with one second remaining while trailing 72-70, seemingly sealing a loss. However, before play resumed, several tennis balls were tossed onto the court from the stands, apparently in taunting reference to Schinztius's earlier altercation. The officials called a

technical foul In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

on the home team, and Schintzius hit the resulting two free throws to send the game into overtime. He then scored Florida's first seven points in the extra period to lead the Gators to an 81-78 win. The improbable win was the second victory in what grew into an 11-game conference streak that ran from mid-January until early March. The Gators ended the season one game ahead of Vanderbilt and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

in the conference standings to earn the program's first ever regular season SEC basketball championship. They were the runners-up to Alabama in the SEC tournament and received their third consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #7 seed. However, a poor shooting performance led to an upset loss to Colorado State in the first round, ending the Gators' season. Florida was again ranked in the AP preseason poll leading up to the following season, but days before the first game in November 1989, Sloan was forced to resign due to an NCAA investigation into the program. Dwayne Schintzius quit the team over conflicts with interim coach

Don DeVoe Donald Eugene DeVoe (born December 31, 1941) is a former American college basketball coach and former player. DeVoe played college basketball for Ohio State University, and later served as the head coach for Virginia Tech, the University of Wyom ...

, and the program's streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances ended in 1989-90 with their first losing record in six years.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, SEC tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 Florida Gators men's basketball team Florida Gators men's basketball seasons

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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