The 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in intercollegiate

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

during the 1988–89 season. The head coach was Bill Frieder, who was dismissed before 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 champio ...

and replaced by assistant Steve Fisher. They played their home games at Crisler Arena in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

as members of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. They finished the season 30–7, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. The Wolverines received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southeast region. They defeated Xavier and South Alabama to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, they defeated No. 5-ranked

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, they defeated fellow Big Ten member and No. 3-ranked

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to advance to the National Championship game. There they defeated No. 11

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

in overtime to win the school's first and, to date, only National Championship.

Previous season

The Wolverines finished the 1987–88 season 26–8, 13–5 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. There they defeated Boise State and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to North Carolina.

Season summary

The team was ranked all eighteen weeks of the season in the Associated Press Top Twenty Poll where it began the season at number three, ended at number ten and peaked at number two. and it also ended the season ranked tenth in the final UPI Coaches' Poll. The team repeated as the national statistical champion in team

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

(56.6%, 1325 of 2341). During the season the team set numerous national and conference records. Glen Rice set the current Big Ten single-game

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) 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 ...

s percentage record against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

on February 25, 1989 (100% most made, 7 of 7). He also broke Mike McGee's Big Ten career

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

record with 2442, but that was eclipsed in 1993, although it remains the school record. The team set the following current Big Ten records: single-season points (3393), single-season field goals made (1325), single-season field goals attempted (2341), single-season

(.566), single-season field goals percentage (conference games only, .561, 606 of 1,080), and single-season assists (745). Rice and

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

served as team co-

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

s and Rice earned team

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. Rice was also recognized as a

consensus All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Dave Balza was student manager. Rice's 949 points established the current school single-season record, surpassing

Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with t ...

's 1966 record of 800. He also set the current school single-season

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

record of 363, surpassing Mike McGee. He set the current single-season three-point field goal percentage record of 51.56%, surpassing Gary Grant's previous season mark of 48.53%. Additionally, he set the school record for career and single-season three-point shots made with 135 and 99, respectively, that would last for ten years and eight years, respectively. He also set the current single-game field goal percentage record of 100% (7-for-7) against

on February 25, 1989, surpassing Garde Thompson's 8-for-9 1986 performance.

Loy Vaught Loy Stephen Vaught (born February 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily with the Los Angeles Clippers. Vaught played at East Kentwood High S ...

also broke the Michigan single

record of 62.18% that he set the prior year by reaching a 66.12%, which would stand as the record until 1995. For the third year in a row, the team established a new Michigan single-season scoring record with 3393 points. For the last of five consecutive seasons, the team set the school record for single-season

on with a 56.6% (1325-for-2341) performance. This continues to be the school record. The team also set the current school single-season three-point field goal percentage record of 46.8% (196-for-419), surpassing the 1987 record, while setting a school record for three-point field goals made of 196 that would last until 1997. The team set the current school single-season free throws made record of 547, which surpassed the 1977 mark of 510.> For the third of three consecutive seasons, the team set the school single-season total assist record with a total of 745, surpassing the prior total of 694 and establishing the current record. Rice ended his career with 134 games played, which surpassed Gary Grant's 1988 school record of 129 games. Vaught would surpass this record the following year. The team earned numerous conference statistical championships. Rice won the scoring average championship for conference games only with a 24.8 average as well as the three-point shot championship with 55 in his conference games. Vaught won the field goal percentage title with a 67.7% mark. Terry Mills won the

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 def ...

s championship with a 1.22 average in conference games. In addition, the team won scoring offense (87.8), scoring margin (10.3), field goal percentage (56.1%) and three-point field goals made (103). During the six-game championship tournament run, Rice set the current

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

single-tournament records for points (184), field goals made (75), and three-point field goals made (27) as well as the career record for three-point field goal percentage (minimum 30 made, 56.5%, 35–62). In addition,

Rumeal Robinson Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player and convicted felon. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to pl ...

set the current championship game assists record (11 on April 3, 1989, vs. Seton Hall in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

) as well as the current

final four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

two-game assist record of 23. The team also set the final four two-game assist record of 42, which would be broken the following year. In the 64-team

, number three seeded Michigan won the tournament by defeating the fourteen-seeded

Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 19 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Mus ...

92–87, the six-seeded 91–82, the two-seeded

, who had ousted them the prior two years, 92–87, the five-seeded

102–65, the one-seeded

83–81 and three-seeded Seton Hall 80–79 in overtime. Against North Carolina, the team set the school record of 13 three-point field goals made, which would last until February 22, 1998. They became the first team in school history to win 30 games. They held the wins record until the 2018 team won 32 games making it to the Final Four. The team continues to rank second in NCAA history in single-season team

: 56.6% (1325 of 2341).

Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

Statistics

The team posted the following statistics:

Awards and honors

* Glen Rice, NCAA Men's MOP Award

Team players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

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