# 1988–89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1988-89 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 18th season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1988* | | St. Bonaventure | W 92–72 | 1–0 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 3, 1988* | | vs. Kentucky | W 81–65 | 2–0 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 6, 1988* | | Indiana | W 84–71 | 3–0 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 10, 1988* | | Creighton | W 77–64 | 4–0 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 17, 1988* | | at Valparaiso | L 68–71 | 4–1 | Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Jan 2, 1989* | | at Pennsylvania | W 60–55 | 5–1 | Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 7, 1989* | | at San Francisco | L 75–79 | 5–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Jan 9, 1989* | | at Portland | W 80–58 | 6–2 | Chiles Center Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 14, 1989* | | at UCLA | W 82–79 | 7–2 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 17, 1989* | | SMU | W 67–45 | 8–2 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 21, 1989* | | No. 11 Syracuse | L 87–99 | 8–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 24, 1989* | | Rutgers | W 85–63 | 9–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 28, 1989* | | Temple | W 64–60 | 10–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 31, 1989* | | Dayton | W 85–75 | 11–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 2, 1989* | | Marquette | W 83–68 | 12–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 5, 1989* | | No. 12 Duke | L 80–102 | 12–4 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 8, 1989* | | at Fordham | W 77–58 | 13–4 | Rose Hill Gym New York, New York |
| Feb 11, 1989* | | USC | W 83–74 | 14–4 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 14, 1989* | | Boston College | L 72–83 | 14–5 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 16, 1989* | | La Salle | W 80–78 | 15–5 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 19, 1989* | | Houston | W 89–80 | 16–5 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 21, 1989* | | at Dayton | W 83–66 | 17–5 | UD Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| Feb 25, 1989* | | at Georgia Tech | L 80–90 | 17–6 | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 1, 1989* | | DePaul | W 67–60 | 18–6 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Mar 4, 1989* | | No. 14 Louisville | L 77–87 | 18–7 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Mar 6, 1989* | | at Butler | W 76–69 | 19–7 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 8, 1989* | | at Marquette | W 67–63 | 20–7 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Mar 11, 1989* | | at DePaul | L 70–73 | 20–8 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1989* | (9 E) | vs. (8 E) Vanderbilt First Round | W 81–65 | 21–8 | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Mar 19, 1989* | (9 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 2 Georgetown Second Round | L 74–81 | 21–9 | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll/UPI Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||