# 1988–89 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California in the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) during the 1988–89 college basketball season. Led by third-year head coach Lynn Nance, the Gaels played their home games on campus at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California. They finished the regular season with an overall record of 24–3 (.889) (12–2 in WCAC, 1st), but were upset in the semifinals of the conference tournament by fifth-seeded Santa Clara.
The Gaels received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, seeded eighth in the West regional. They lost to Clemson in the opening round at Boise to end the season at 25–5 (.833).
After the season in early April, Nance departed for Seattle to lead the University of Washington, his alma mater. He was succeeded by UCLA assistant Paul Landreaux, hired a few weeks later.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 26, 1988* | | Humboldt State | W 96–46 | 1–0 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Nov 28, 1988* | | Chico State | W 95–57 | 2–0 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Dec 3, 1988* | | at Montana | W 71–58 | 3–0 | Harry Adams Field House Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 6, 1988* | | U.S. International | W 98–67 | 4–0 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Dec 9, 1988* | | vs. Penn State BYU Cougar Classic | W 76–52 | 5–0 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| Dec 10, 1988* | | at BYU BYU Cougar Classic | W 70–69 | 6–0 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| Dec 16, 1988* | | at Idaho State | W 92–48 | 7–0 | Holt Arena Pocatello, Idaho |
| Dec 19, 1988* | | Eastern Washington | W 76–56 | 8–0 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Dec 22, 1988* | | New Hampshire | W 95–56 | 9–0 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Dec 27, 1988* | | Stanford | L 64–65 | 9–1 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Dec 30, 1988* | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 68–61 | 10–1 | Titan Gym Fullerton, California |
| Jan 4, 1989* | | at U.S. International | W 80–63 | 11–1 | The Pavilion |
| Jan 7, 1989* | | Southern Utah | W 80–54 | 12–1 | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Jan 13, 1989* | | Portland | W 71–45 | 13–1 (1–0) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Jan 14, 1989 | | Gonzaga | W 67–45 | 14–1 (2–0) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Jan 20, 1989 | | at Santa Clara | W 76–48 | 15–1 (3–0) | Toso Pavilion Santa Clara, California |
| Jan 21, 1989 | | at San Francisco | W 71–53 | 16–1 (4–0) | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Jan 27, 1989 | | San Francisco | L 55–62 | 16–2 (4–1) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Jan 28, 1989 | | Santa Clara | W 53–34 | 17–2 (5–1) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Feb 3, 1989 | | at Loyola Marymount | W 116–104 | 18–2 (6–1) | Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 4, 1989* | | at Pepperdine | L 60–65 | 18–3 (6–2) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Feb 10, 1989 | | Pepperdine | W 77–49 | 19–3 (7–2) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Feb 11, 1989 | | Loyola Marymount | W 95–81 | 20–3 (8–2) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Feb 15, 1989 | | San Diego | W 70–45 | 21–3 (9–2) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Feb 18, 1989 | | at San Diego | W 65–47 | 22–3 (10–2) | USD Sports Center San Diego, California |
| Feb 24, 1989 | No. 19 | at Gonzaga | W 67–63 | 23–3 (11–2) | Martin Centre Spokane, Washington |
| Feb 25, 1989 | No. 19 | at Portland | W 63–41 | 24–3 (12–2) | Chiles Center Portland, Oregon |
| WCAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 4, 1989* | (1) No. 17 | vs. (8) Portland Quarterfinals | W 86–48 | 25–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Mar 5, 1989* | (1) No. 17 | vs. (5) Santa Clara Semifinals | L 61–63 | 25–4 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 1989* | (8 W) | vs. (9 W) Clemson First Round | L 70–83 | 25–5 | BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific time. ||||||
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