# 1988–89 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1988–89 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach C. M. Newton and played its home games at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores finished with a 19–14 record (12–6 SEC, 3rd) and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1988* ESPN | | vs. No. 3 Michigan Maui Invitational | L 61–91 | 0–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 26, 1988* | | at Chaminade Maui Invitational | W 94–70 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 27, 1988* | | vs. No. 16 Ohio State Maui Invitational | L 82–97 | 1–2 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 30, 1988* | | No. 13 Louisville | W 65–62 | 2–2 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 3, 1988* | | at Alabama-Birmingham | L 69–76 | 2–3 | Bartow Arena Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 7, 1988* | | at No. 8 North Carolina | L 77–89 | 2–4 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 10, 1988* | | at Kansas State | L 62–71 | 2–5 | Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 14, 1988 | | Auburn | W 93–77 | 3–5 (1–0) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1988* | | Murray State | W 74–57 | 4–5 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 22, 1988* | | Dartmouth | W 92–67 | 5–5 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 29, 1988* | | Colgate Music City Invitational | W 91–55 | 6–5 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 30, 1988* | | Stanford Music City Invitational | L 68–89 | 6–6 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 4, 1989 | | Alabama | W 73–53 | 7–6 (2–0) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 7, 1989 | | at Kentucky | L 61–70 | 7–7 (2–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 11, 1989 | | at Ole Miss | W 72–65 | 8–7 (3–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 14, 1989 2:00 p.m., JPT | | Georgia | W 76–75 | 9–7 (4–1) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 18, 1989 7:00 p.m., JPT | | at LSU | L 85–86 | 9–8 (4–2) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 21, 1989* CBS | | Texas | W 94–79 | 10–8 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 25, 1989 | | Florida | L 78–81 | 10–9 (4–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 28, 1989 | | at Mississippi State | W 81–70 | 11–9 (5–3) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 1, 1989 | | Tennessee | W 68–56 | 12–9 (6–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 4, 1989 | | at Alabama | L 67–77 | 12–10 (6–4) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 8, 1989 7:00 p.m., JPT | | Kentucky | W 81–51 | 13–10 (7–4) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 11, 1989 | | Ole Miss | W 71–69 | 14–10 (8–4) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 15, 1989 | | at Georgia | W 85–72 | 15–10 (9–4) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 18, 1989 2:00 p.m., JPT | | No. 20 LSU | W 108–74 | 16–10 (10–4) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 22, 1989 | | at Auburn | W 77–62 | 17–10 (11–4) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 25, 1989 2:00 p.m., JPT | | at Florida | L 80–83 | 17–11 (11–5) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Mar 1, 1989 | | Mississippi State | W 77–58 | 18–11 (12–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 4, 1989 | | at Tennessee | L 61–78 | 18–12 (12–6) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1989* JPT | | vs. Kentucky SEC Tournament Quarterfinal | W 77–63 | 19–12 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 11, 1989* JPT | | vs. Alabama SEC Tournament Semifinal | L 79–83 | 19–13 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1989* | (8 E) | vs. (9 E) Notre Dame | L 65–81 | 18–14 | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 30 | Frank Kornet | Milwaukee Bucks |