# 1988–89 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by fifth-year head coach Bruce Stewart, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 23–8, 10–2 in OVC play to win the regular season championship. In the OVC tournament, they defeated Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 13 seed in the Southeast region, they defeated Florida State in the first round before losing in the second round to Virginia.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1988* | | Kennesaw State | W 93–56 | 1–0 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 3, 1988* | | at Wright State | L 71–88 | 1–1 | WSU Physical Education Building Dayton, Ohio |
| Dec 5, 1988* | | at Akron | L 65–81 | 1–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, Ohio |
| Dec 8, 1988* | | Tennessee Wesleyan | W 143–68 | 2–2 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 10, 1988* | | Alabama State | W 111–83 | 3–2 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 17, 1988* | | at Chattanooga | W 88–87 | 4–2 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Dec 20, 1988* | | Louisiana Tech | W 91–87 | 5–2 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 22, 1988* | | Arkansas State | W 93–92 $^{2OT}$ | 6–2 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 27, 1988* | | vs. Clemson Far West Classic Quarterfinal | L 77–81 | 6–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 29, 1988* | | vs. Chicago State Far West Classic | W 85–71 | 7–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 30, 1988* | | vs. Colorado Far West Classic | W 107–105 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 4, 1989* | | at Alabama State | L 96–102 | 8–4 | Dunn Arena Montgomery, Alabama |
| Jan 7, 1989* | | Akron | W 99–94 | 9–4 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Regular season ||||||
| Jan 9, 1989 | | Tennessee State | W 89–60 | 10–4 (1–0) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 12, 1989* | | at Louisiana Tech | L 71–72 | 10–5 | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana |
| Jan 16, 1989 | | at Tennessee Tech | W 79–77 | 11–5 (2–0) | Eblen Center Cookeville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1989 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 82–67 | 12–5 (3–0) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 23, 1989 | | Morehead State | W 108–68 | 13–5 (4–0) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 28, 1989 | | at Austin Peay | W 95–84 | 14–5 (5–0) | Winfield Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee |
| Jan 30, 1989 | | at Murray State | L 67–71 | 14–6 (5–1) | Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky |
| Feb 4, 1989 | | at Tennessee State | W 104–71 | 15–6 (6–1) | Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 8, 1989* | | Wright State | W 83–51 | 16–6 | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Feb 11, 1989 | | Murray State | W 85–84 | 17–6 (7–1) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Feb 13, 1989 | | Austin Peay | W 111–105 $^{OT}$ | 18–6 (8–1) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Feb 18, 1989 | | at Morehead State | L 99–101 | 18–7 (8–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, Kentucky |
| Feb 20, 1989 | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 81–63 | 19–7 (9–2) | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Feb 25, 1989 | | Tennessee Tech | W 89–68 | 20–7 (10–2) | Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| OVC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1989* | (1) | vs. (5) Eastern Kentucky Semifinals | W 81–64 | 21–7 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 9, 1989* | (1) | vs. (3) Austin Peay Championship | W 82–79 | 22–7 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 1989* | (13 SE) | vs. (4 SE) No. 16 Florida State First Round | W 97–83 | 23–7 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 18, 1989* | (13 SE) | vs. (5 SE) Virginia Second Round | L 88–104 | 23–8 | Memorial Gymnasium (13,453) Nashville, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast Source. All times are in Central Time. ||||||