# 1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1988-89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his ninth season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 23–8, 12–6 in conference, good for second behind Florida.
It was a strong off-season of signings for the Crimson Tide. Freshmen signees Marcus Webb and Robert Horry and junior college transfer David Benoit joined holdovers Keith Askins, Melvin Cheatum, Alvin Lee, and Michael Ansley.
The Tide won the 1989 SEC men's basketball tournament, beating Florida in the final and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, they were upset in the first round by South Alabama in the first ever meeting in history between the two Alabama-based schools.

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 25, 1988* | | Arizona State | W 84–83 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| November 26, 1988* | | at Richmond | W 54–49 | 2–0 | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| December 2, 1988* | | Oral Roberts | L 86–91 | 2–1 | Jacksonville, Florida |
| December 3, 1988* | | Southern Miss | W 63–58 | 3–1 | Jacksonville, Florida |
| December 8, 1988* | | Virginia Tech | W 79–76 | 4–1 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 12, 1988* | | Augusta | W 94–78 | 5–1 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 17, 1988* | | UCF | W 86–48 | 6–1 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 19, 1988* | | Southern | W 102–87 | 7–1 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 22, 1988 | | at Georgia | L 60–65 | 7–2 (0–1) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| December 29, 1988* | | Louisiana-Monroe | W 80–65 | 8–2 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 4, 1989 | | at Vanderbilt | L 53–73 | 8–3 (0–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| January 7, 1989 | | Ole Miss | W 79–67 | 9–3 (1–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 11, 1989 | | Georgia | W 80–62 | 10–3 (2–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 14, 1989 | | Mississippi State | W 97–80 | 11–3 (3–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 18, 1989 | | Kentucky | W 76–64 | 12–3 (4–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 21, 1989 | | at LSU | L 76–80 | 12–4 (4–3) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| January 25, 1989 | | Tennessee | W 87–85 | 13–4 (5–3) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 28, 1989 | | at Auburn | W 67–64 | 14–4 (6–3) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 1, 1989 | | at Florida | L 76–85 | 14–5 (6–4) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| February 4, 1989 | | Vanderbilt | W 77–67 | 15–5 (7–4) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 8, 1989 | | at Ole Miss | W 55–54 | 16–5 (8–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| February 15, 1989 | | at Mississippi State | L 57–61 | 16–6 (8–5) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| February 18, 1989 | | at Kentucky | W 71–67 | 17–6 (9–5) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 22, 1989 | | LSU | W 87–72 | 18–6 (10–5) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 25, 1989 | | at Tennessee | L 69–84 | 18–7 (10–6) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| March 2, 1989 | | Auburn | W 74–58 | 19–7 (11–6) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| March 4, 1989 | | Florida | W 83–63 | 20–7 (12–6) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 10, 1989 | (2) | (7) Ole Miss Second Round | W 64–56 | 21–7 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| March 11, 1989 | (2) | (3) Vanderbilt Semifinals | W 83–79 | 22–7 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| March 12, 1989 | (2) | (1) Florida SEC Championship | W 72–60 | 23–7 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 17, 1989* | (6 SE) No. 20 | (11 SE) South Alabama First Round | L 84–86 | 23–8 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. ||||||