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

1988–89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
1988–89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Independent
Record	21–9
Head coach	Digger Phelps (18th season);
Assistant coach	Fran McCaffery (1st season)
Home arena	Joyce Center

1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Akron		–		–	21	–	8	.724
		–		–	21	–	9	.700
DePaul		–		–	21	–	12	.636
Miami (FL)		–		–	19	–	12	.613
UMBC		–		–	17	–	11	.607
Wright State		–		–	17	–	11	.607
Marquette		–		–	13	–	15	.464
Mount St. Mary's		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Chicago State		–		–	12	–	16	.429
Nicholls State		–		–	12	–	16	.429
Northern Illinois		–		–	11	–	17	.393
U.S. International		–		–	11	–	17	.393
Liberty		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Central Connecticut State		–		–	10	–	18	.357
Florida International		–		–	10	–	18	.357
Southern Utah		–		–	10	–	18	.357
UMKC		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Oral Roberts		–		–	8	–	20	.286
Central Florida		–		–	7	–	20	.259
Davidson		–		–	7	–	24	.226
Youngstown State		–		–	5	–	23	.179
Brooklyn		–		–	4	–	23	.148
Southeastern Louisiana		–		–	3	–	24	.111

Rankings from AP Poll

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. They finished with an overall record of 21–9. They received an at large bid as a #9 seed in the 1989 NCAA Tournament. In the opening round they defeated Vanderbilt but lost to top seed Georgetown 81–74.

Roster

Players

Coaches

^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
PG	12	Elmer Bennett	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Bellaire, Texas
PF	20	LaPhonso Ellis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	East St. Louis, Illinois
C	43	Keith Tower	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Fr	Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
G		Joe Fredrick	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr
G		Jamere Jackson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Jr	Indianapolis, Indiana
F	50	Keith Robinson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Jr	Buffalo, New York
G	10	Tim Singleton	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	So
F		Daimon Sweet	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Fr
C		Scott Paddock	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Jr	Plantation, Florida
F		Kevin Ellery	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Springfield, Kentucky
G		Tim Crawford	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr	Frankenmuth, Michigan
G		Keith Adkins	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Fr	Paintsville, Kentucky

Head coach

Digger Phelps (Rider)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

^[8]

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^[9]	21–9	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll/UPI Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[10]

References

^ "Where Are They Now: Jamere Jackson, Manual basketball". JounralStar. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Keith Robinson". Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Notre Dame's Tim Singleton (10) goes for the basket as Georgetown's Dikembe Mutombo (55) tries for a block during the first half of their NCAA Division 1 second round playoff game in Providence, R.I., March 19, 1989". Alamy. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Notre Dame's Scott Paddock develops love for Midwest, motorsports". ND Insider. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Washington County: World traveler is back home". Lexington Herald. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Implant helps former coach, player Tim Crawford overcome sounds of silence". MLive. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "Keith Adkins". Mountain Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "1988-89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Roster and Stats". Sports Reference College Basketball. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
^ "EAST REGIONAL; Smith Leads Hoyas Past Irish". New York Times. March 20, 1989. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
^ "2019-20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. p. 120. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

[1] "Where Are They Now: Jamere Jackson, Manual basketball". JounralStar. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[2] "Keith Robinson". Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[3] "Notre Dame's Tim Singleton (10) goes for the basket as Georgetown's Dikembe Mutombo (55) tries for a block during the first half of their NCAA Division 1 second round playoff game in Providence, R.I., March 19, 1989". Alamy. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[4] "Notre Dame's Scott Paddock develops love for Midwest, motorsports". ND Insider. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[5] "Washington County: World traveler is back home". Lexington Herald. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[6] "Implant helps former coach, player Tim Crawford overcome sounds of silence". MLive. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[7] "Keith Adkins". Mountain Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[8] "1988-89 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Roster and Stats". Sports Reference College Basketball. Retrieved June 24, 2025.

[9] "EAST REGIONAL; Smith Leads Hoyas Past Irish". New York Times. March 20, 1989. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

[10] "2019-20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. p. 120. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
Venues	Notre Dame Fieldhouse (1898–1968) Joyce Center (1968–present)
Rivalries	UCLA
Culture & lore	Notre Dame Leprechaun Crossroads Classic
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1907 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics