The 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1989 and ended with the

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 ...

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sp ...

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

on April 2, 1990. The UNLV Runnin' Rebels won their first NCAA national championship with a 103–73 victory over the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

Season headlines

* The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP)

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

expanded from a Top 20 to a Top 25 format. * Prior to the season, the West Coast Athletic Conference renamed itself the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

. * In a 1990 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament semifinal game on March 4, 1990, Loyola Marymount forward Hank Gathers collapsed during the first half and stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead two hours later. The game and the rest of the tournament were cancelled. Regular-season champion Loyola Marymount received the conference's automatic bid in the 1990 NCAA tournament and made a run to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

. *

Lionel Simmons Lionel James "L-Train" Simmons (born November 14, 1968) is an Americans, American former professional basketball player. Early life Simmons led South Philadelphia High School to a Philadelphia Public League boys' championship in 1986, getting an ...

became the first NCAA Division I player to score more than 3,000 points and gather more than 1,100 rebounds. The senior forward from La Salle averaged 26.5 points and 11.1 rebounds to earn National Player of the Year.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.*

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Division I independents

A total of 19 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Wright State (21–7) had both the best

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

(.750) and the most wins.

Informal championships

La Salle finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Postseason tournaments

NCAA Tournament

Final Four -
McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sp ...
,
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

National Invitation Tournament

NIT Semifinals and Final

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award:

, La Salle * Naismith Award: Lionel Simmons, La Salle * Associated Press Player of the Year: Lionel Simmons, La Salle * UPI Player of the Year: Lionel Simmons, La Salle *

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...

: Lionel Simmons, La Salle * Oscar Robertson Trophy ( USBWA): Lionel Simmons, La Salle * Adolph Rupp Trophy: Lionel Simmons, La Salle * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Dennis Scott,

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Major freshman of the year awards

* USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Kenny Anderson,

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

* UPI Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut *

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

( USBWA): Roy Williams,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: Jud Heathcote, Michigan State * Naismith College Coach of the Year: Bobby Cremins,

* CBS/

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut * ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut

Other major awards

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

(Best player under 6'0): Greg "Boo" Harvey, St. John's * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5):

, La Salle (3-time recipient) * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

metro area): Greg "Boo" Harvey, St. John's

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...