# 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final round of the 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. It determined the national champion for the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, and was contested by the Southeast Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten and the West Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Seton Hall Pirates of the Big East. Both teams were seeking their first national title. The game was played on April 3, 1989, at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington.
Michigan defeated Seton Hall, 80–79 in OT, to claim their first national championship in basketball. It was also the first title for interim head coach Steve Fisher. Wolverine senior forward Glen Rice was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) as he established the tournament scoring record with 184 points.

## Participating teams
### Michigan Wolverines
#### First round vs. #14 Xavier

* NCAA Productions ESPN
* Friday, March 17 12:07 PM EST
* box score
#3 Michigan Wolverines 92, #14 Xavier Musketeers 87 :
| Pts: G. Rice, R. Robinson - 23 Rebs: M. Hughes - 10 Asts: R. Robinson - 8 | Pts: T. Hill - 21 Rebs: D. Strong - 10 Asts: J. Walker - 9 Halftime Score: Xavier, 45-42 |
* Omni Coliseum - Atlanta, GA Attendance: 12,349 Referees: Nick Borucki, Dave Libbey, Bob Barnett

#### Second Round vs. #11 South Alabama

* CBS
* Sunday, March 19 2:20 PM EST
* box score
#3 Michigan Wolverines 91, #11 South Alabama Jaguars 82 :
| Pts: G. Rice - 36 Rebs: G. Rice - 8 Asts: D. Calip, T. Mills, G. Rice, R. Robinson - 5 | Pts: J. Lewis - 25 Rebs: G. Estaba, J. Lewis - 9 Asts: T. Brodnick - 6 Halftime Score: South Alabama, 47-44 |
* Omni Coliseum - Atlanta, GA Attendance: 12,821 Referees: Dave Libbey, Gene Monje, Bob Barnett

#### Regional semifinals vs. #2 North Carolina

* CBS
* Thursday, March 23 approx. 10:11 PM EST
* box score
#3 Michigan Wolverines 92, #2 North Carolina Tar Heels 87 :
| Pts: G. Rice - 34 Rebs: M. Hughes, T. Mills, G. Rice, L. Vaught - 6 Asts: R. Robinson - 13 | Pts: J.R. Reid - 26 Rebs: S. Bucknall - 7 Asts: S. Bucknall - 10 Halftime Score: Michigan, 50-47 |
* Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY Attendance: 22,314 Referees: Don Rutledge, Tom Scott, Wally Tanner

#### Regional finals vs. #5 Virginia

* CBS
* Saturday, March 25 1:58 PM EST
* box score
#3 Michigan Wolverines 102, #5 Virginia Cavaliers 65 :
| Pts: G. Rice - 32 Rebs: L. Vaught - 9 Asts: R. Robinson - 7 | Pts: R. Morgan - 15 Rebs: B. Dabbs - 12 Asts: J. Crotty - 7 Halftime Score: Michigan, 44-25 |
* Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY Attendance: 22,755 Referees: Mickey Crowley, Jim Burr, Frank Bosone

#### Final Four vs. #1 Illinois

* CBS
* Saturday, April, 1 approx. 5:12 PM PST/8:12 PM EST
* box score
#SE3 Michigan Wolverines 83, #MW1 Illinois Fighting Illini 81 :
| Pts: G. Rice - 28 Rebs: L. Vaught - 16 Asts: R. Robinson - 12 | Pts: K. Battle - 29 Rebs: L. Hamilton - 9 Asts: S. Bardo - 8 Halftime Score: Michigan, 39-38 |
* Kingdome - Seattle, WA Attendance: 39,187 Referees: Ted Hillary, David Jones, Tom Harrington

### Seton Hall Pirates
#### First round vs. #14 Southwest Missouri State

* NCAA Productions ESPN
* Friday, March 17 approx. 2:37 PM MST/4:37 PM EST
* box score
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 60, #14 Southwest Missouri State Bears 51 :
| Pts: J. Morton - 26 Rebs: D. Walker - 6 Asts: A. Gaze - 4 | Pts: H. Henderson - 18 Rebs: H. Henderson - 6 Asts: D. Lewis - 6 Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 30-23 |
* McKale Center - Tucson, AZ Attendance: 12,787 Referees: Don Shea, Allie Prescott, Jim Loustaldt

#### Second Round vs. #11 Evansville

* CBS
* Sunday, March 19 12:25 PM MST/2:25 PM EST
* box score
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 87, #11 Evansville Aces 73 :
| Pts: J. Morton - 17 Rebs: R. Ramos, D. Walker - 10 Asts: G. Greene, P. Wigington - 5 | Pts: S. Haffner - 20 Rebs: D. Godfread - 6 Asts: R. Crafton - 7 Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 49-41 |
* McKale Center - Tucson, AZ Attendance: 13,391 Referees: John Moreau, Sid Rodeheffer, Mark DiStaolo

#### Regional semifinals vs. #2 Indiana

* CBS
* Thursday, March 23 6:09 PM MST/8:09 PM EST
* box score
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 78, #2 Indiana Hoosiers 65 :
| Pts: J. Morton - 17 Rebs: D. Walker - 10 Asts: G. Greene - 5 | Pts: J. Edwards - 18 Rebs: E. Anderson - 6 Asts: J. Hillman, L. Jones - 3 Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 42-33 |
* McNichols Sports Arena - Denver, CO Attendance: 16,813 Referees: Jody Sylvester, Dave Libbey, David Bair

#### Regional finals vs. #4 UNLV

* CBS
* Saturday, March 25 2:05 PM MST/4:05 PM EST
* box score
#3 Seton Hall Pirates 84, #4 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 61 :
| Pts: A. Gaze - 19 Rebs: D. Walker - 15 Asts: G. Greene - 3 | Pts: G. Anthony - 16 Rebs: M. Scurry - 14 Asts: G. Anthony - 4 Halftime Score: Seton Hall, 34-30 |
* McNichols Sports Arena - Denver, CO Attendance: 16,813 Referees: Lenny Wirtz, David Dodge, Larry Rose

#### Final Four vs. #2 Duke

* CBS
* Saturday, April 1 2:42 PM PST/5:42 PM EST
* box score
#W3 Seton Hall Pirates 95, #E2 Duke Blue Devils 78 :
| Pts: A. Gaze - 20 Rebs: R. Ramos - 12 Asts: G. Greene - 8 | Pts: D. Ferry - 34 Rebs: D. Ferry - 10 Asts: P. Henderson - 5 Halftime Score: Duke, 38-33 |
* Kingdome - Seattle, WA Attendance: 39,187 Referees: Larry Lembo, Don Rutledge, Ed Hightower

## Starting lineups

| Michigan | Position | Position | Seton Hall |
| Rumeal Robinson | G | G | Gerald Greene |
| Mike Griffin | G | G | John Morton 1 |
| Glen Rice 1 | F | F | Andrew Gaze |
| Loy Vaught | F | F | Daryll Walker |
| Terry Mills | C | C | Ramón Ramos |
| Players selected in the 1989 NBA draft (number indicates round) ||||
Source

## Game summary

Michigan trailed by three, 79–76, with less than a minute remaining in overtime when Terry Mills hit a turnaround 11-footer to cut the Seton Hall lead to 79–78. After a defensive stop, the Pirates' Gerald Greene was controversially called for a foul on Rumeal Robinson with three seconds left in overtime. Robinson made both free throws, and, after Seton Hall's last-second shot came up short, Michigan won its first national championship.
* CBS
* Monday, April 3, 1989 6:12 PM PDT/9:12 PM EDT
* box score
#SE3 Michigan Wolverines 80, #W3 Seton Hall Pirates 79 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 37–32, 34–39 Overtime: 9–8 |||
| Pts: Glen Rice - 34 Rebs: Glen Rice - 11 Asts: Rumeal Robinson - 11 | Pts: John Morton - 35 Rebs: Daryll Walker - 11 Asts: Gerald Greene - 5 |
* Kingdome, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 39,187 Referees: Mickey Crowley, Tom Rucker, John Clougherty
| Starters: | Starters: | Starters: | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| G | 21 | Rumeal Robinson | 21 | 3 | 11 |
| G | 11 | Mike Griffin | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| F | 41 | Glen Rice | 31 | 11 | 0 |
| F | 35 | Loy Vaught | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| C | 52 | Terry Mills | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Reserves: | Reserves: | Reserves: | | | |
| G/F | 24 | Sean Higgins | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| C | 55 | Mark Hughes | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| G | 13 | Demetrius Calip | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Head coach: ||||||
| Steve Fisher ||||||
| Michigan | Seton Hall |
| Michigan | Statistics | Seton Hall |
| 30/67 (45%) | Field goals | 28/65 (43%) |
| 6/16 (38%) | 3-pt. field goals | 7/23 (30%) |
| 14/16 (88%) | Free throws | 16/22 (73%) |
| 11 | Offensive rebounds | 7 |
| 31 | Defensive rebounds | 27 |
| 42 | Total rebounds | 34 |
| 19 | Assists | 14 |
| 14 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 3 | Steals | 4 |
| 4 | Blocks | 2 |
| 16 | Fouls | 23 |
| Starters: | Starters: | Starters: | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| G | 15 | Gerald Greene | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| G | 24 | Daryll Walker | 13 | 11 | 1 |
| F | 10 | Andrew Gaze | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| F | 23 | John Morton | 35 | 4 | 3 |
| C | 25 | Ramón Ramos | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Reserves: | Reserves: | Reserves: | | | |
| F | 31 | Mike Cooper | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 32 | Anthony Avent | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| G | 30 | Frantz Volcy | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 4 | Pookey Wigington | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Head coach: ||||||
| P. J. Carlesimo ||||||

## Aftermath

While Michigan and Seton Hall experienced regular season and postseason success in the following years, 1989 marked a high point for both teams. To date, this remains the only championship won by the Wolverines, while this is the only appearance in the championship game for the Pirates. Since 1989, the closest Seton Hall got to another Final Four was the Elite Eight in 1991, where they lost to then-undefeated UNLV. Michigan would make four more appearances in the national championship game after this in 1992, 1993, 2013, and 2018 (the former two were later vacated by the NCAA), and the Wolverines would lose all four, bringing their record in the championship game to 1–6, the worst record among teams that have previously won a championship.