1988–89 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team
# 1988–89 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 1988–89 East Tennessee State Buccaneers basketball team represented East Tennessee State University during the 1988-89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Les Robinson. The Bucs finished the season 20–11 and 7–7 in Southern Conference play to finish in fourth place. They won the Southern Conference tournament championship in Asheville to receive the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament as the No. 16 seed in the Southeast region. They lost to No. 1 seed Oklahoma, 72–71 in the first round – the second game of the tournament between No. 1 and No. 16 seeds decided by a single point (Georgetown vs. Princeton). This was the first of four consecutive seasons where ETSU qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

## Roster

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## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | $Rank^#$ | $Opponent^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 1988* | | at No. 4 Syracuse Carrier Classic | L 81–120 | 2–1 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Dec 3, 1988* | | vs. Miami (OH) Carrier Classic | W 79–78 | 3–1 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Dec 6, 1988* | | Mississippi State | W 91–82 | 4–1 | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Dec 10, 1988* | | Tennessee State | W 70–69 | 5–1 | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Dec 16, 1988* | | vs. Pacific Sacramento Holiday Classic | W 88–86 | 6–1 | Hornets Nest Sacramento, California |
| Dec 17, 1988* | | at Sacramento State Sacramento Holiday Classic | W 88–86 | 7–1 | Hornets Nest Sacramento, California |
| Dec 29, 1988* | | vs. Southwest Missouri State BMA Holiday Classic | L 68–72 | 7–2 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 30, 1988* | | vs. Iona BMA Holiday Classic | W 92–88 | 8–2 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Jan 8, 1989 | | Western Carolina | W 83–74 | 9–2 (1–0) | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Jan 9, 1989 | | Chattanooga | L 82–86 | 9–3 (1–1) | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Jan 14, 1989 | | at Furman | L 86–90 | 9–4 (1–2) | Greenville Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 21, 1989 | | Appalachian State | L 70–91 | 9–5 (1–3) | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Jan 25, 1989 | | at The Citadel | W 79–70 | 10–5 (2–3) | Deas Hall Charleston, South Carolina |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 1989* | (4) | vs. (5) The Citadel SoCon Tournament Quarterfinal | W 93–89 | 18–10 | Asheville Civic Center Asheville, North Carolina |
| Mar 4, 1989* | (4) | vs. (1) Chattanooga SoCon Tournament Semifinal | W 76–73 | 19–10 | Asheville Civic Center Asheville, North Carolina |
| Mar 5, 1989* | (4) | vs. (6) Marshall SoCon tournament championship | W 96–73 | 20–10 | Asheville Civic Center Asheville, North Carolina |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 1989* | (16 SE) | vs. (1 SE) No. 4 Oklahoma First Round | L 71–72 | 20–11 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#Rankings$ from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

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