# 1988–89 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 1988–89 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 13th year. The team played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 30–8 (10–6) record while making it to the Midwest Regional Final of the NCAA tournament.
The team was led by senior Sherman Douglas and junior Derrick Coleman.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Nov 18, 1988* | No. 8 | La Salle | W 92–76 | 1–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 19, 1988* | No. 8 | Wyoming | W 107–81 | 2–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 23, 1988* | No. 6 | vs. No. 20 Indiana Preseason NIT Semifinals | W 102–78 | 3–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Nov 25, 1988* | No. 6 | vs. No. 14 Missouri Preseason NIT Championship | W 86–84 | 4–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Nov 28, 1988* | No. 6 | Cornell | W 91–66 | 5–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 2, 1988* | No. 4 | East Tennessee State Carrier Classic | W 120–81 | 6–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 3, 1988* | No. 4 | Louisiana Tech Carrier Classic | W 106–98 $^{OT}$ | 7–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 10, 1988* | No. 3 | Kentucky State | W 108–73 | 8–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 14, 1988* | No. 3 | U.S. International | W 135–93 | 9–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 17, 1988* | No. 3 | Canisius | W 95–69 | 10–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 21, 1988* | No. 3 | Western Michigan | W 94–71 | 11–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 27, 1988* | No. 3 | at Rutgers | W 100–81 | 12–0 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ |
| Dec 30, 1988* | No. 3 | Saint Francis (PA) | W 105–63 | 13–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 4, 1989* | No. 2 | Pittsburgh | L 76–81 | 13–1 (0–1) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 7, 1989* | No. 2 | No. 10 Seton Hall | W 90–66 | 14–1 (1–1) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 9, 1989* | No. 2 | at Villanova | L 73–75 | 14–2 (1–2) | The Pavilion Villanova, PA |
| Jan 14, 1989* | No. 4 | at St. John's | L 63–65 | 14–3 (1–3) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Jan 16, 1989* | No. 4 | at Connecticut Rivalry | L 62–68 | 14–4 (1–4) | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT |
| Jan 21, 1989* | No. 11 | at Notre Dame | W 99–87 | 15–4 | Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| Jan 24, 1989* | No. 14 | Boston College | W 72–60 | 16–4 (2–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 28, 1989* | No. 14 | No. 20 Providence | W 100–96 | 17–4 (3–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 1, 1989* | No. 14 | Villanova | W 90–57 | 18–4 (4–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 4, 1989* | No. 14 | Pittsburgh | W 103–80 | 19–4 (5–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 6, 1989* | No. 14 | at No. 10 Seton Hall | W 85–79 | 20–4 (6–4) | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| Feb 11, 1989* | No. 9 | St. John's | W 92–69 | 21–4 (7–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 13, 1989* | No. 9 | at No. 2 Georgetown | L 54–61 | 21–5 (8–4) | Capital Centre (19,035) Landover, MD |
| Feb 18, 1989* | No. 6 | at Providence | W 87–80 | 22–5 (8–5) | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI |
| Feb 26, 1989* | No. 6 | Kentucky | W 89–73 | 23–5 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 28, 1989* | No. 6 | Connecticut Rivalry | W 88–72 | 24–5 (9–5) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Mar 2, 1989* | No. 6 | at Boston College | L 87–90 | 24–6 (10–5) | Silvio O. Conte Forum Boston, MA |
| Mar 5, 1989* | No. 6 | No. 2 Georgetown | W 82–76 | 25–6 (10–6) | Carrier Dome (32,683) Syracuse, NY |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1989* | No. 5 | vs. Providence Big East tournament quarterfinal | W 79–76 | 26–6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Mar 11, 1989* | No. 5 | vs. No. 11 Seton Hall Big East tournament semifinal | W 81–78 | 27–6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Mar 12, 1989* | No. 5 | vs. No. 3 Georgetown Big East Championship | L 79–88 | 27–7 | Madison Square Garden (19,591) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1989* | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (15 MW) Bucknell | W 104–81 | 28–7 | Reunion Arena Dallas, TX |
| Mar 19, 1989* | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (10 MW) Colorado State | W 65–50 | 29–7 | Reunion Arena Dallas, TX |
| Mar 24, 1989* | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (3 MW) No. 6 Missouri Midwest Regional semifinal | W 83–80 | 30–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 26, 1989* | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Illinois Midwest Regional Final | L 86–89 | 30–8 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in EST. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| Coaches | 8 | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

## 1989 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 28 | Sherman Douglas | Miami Heat |