1988–89 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

1988–89 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	† 1989 MAC Tournament winner ; Rankings from AP Poll

1988–89 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
1988–89 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC regular season champions; MAC Tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 18
1988–89 record	29–3 (14–2 MAC)
Head coach	Rick Majerus (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Dick Hunsaker; Leonard Drake; Kirk Earlywine;
MVP	Curtis Kidd
Home arena	Irving Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1989–90 →

The 1988–89 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second-year head coach Rick Majerus, Ball State played stifling defense en route to one of the best seasons in the school's history, including a school-record 29 wins and the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.^[1] The Cardinals won MAC regular season and tournament titles, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and finished the season with a 29–3 record (14–2 MAC).

Roster[]

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	42	Paris McCurdy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Cooley	Detroit, MI
F	4	Chandler Thompson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Muncie Central^[2]	Muncie, IN
C	44	Curtis Kidd	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Cooley	Detroit, MI
G	30	Billy Butts	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Muncie Northside	Muncie, IN
G	34	Emanuel Cross	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Westinghouse	Chicago, IL
F		Rick Hall (C)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr
F	31	Greg Miller	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Yorktown	Yorktown, IN
F	33	Shawn Parrish	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Vincennes University^[3] Owen Valley	Spencer, IN
C	32	Roman Muller	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Wisconsin Dells^[4]	Wisconsin Dells, WI
G	22	Mike Spicer	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Central	Grand Rapids, MI
G	35	Dave Barber	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Daleville	Muncie, IN
G	20	Scott Nichols	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	St. Martin Deporres	Detroit, IN
G	25	Rodney Haynes	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Chrysler	New Castle, IN
G	11	Mike Giunta	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Carmel, IN
G	23	Keith Stalling	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Dunbar	Chicago IL

Head coach

Rick Majerus (Marquette)

Assistant coach(es)

Dick Hunsaker (Weber State)
Leonard Drake (Central Michigan)
(University of Wisconsin at Platteville)
Kirk Earlywine (Campbell)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 26, 1988*		at Minnesota	W 63–57	1–0	Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 29, 1988*		Cardinal Stritch	W 95–53	2–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Dec 2, 1988*		U.S. International	W 85–66	3–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Dec 3, 1988*		Florida A&M	W 76–52	4–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Dec 7, 1988*		Indiana State	W 80–56	5–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Dec 10, 1988*		Purdue	W 70–56	6–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Dec 13, 1988*		at Valparaiso	W 63–56	7–0	Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, Indiana
Dec 21, 1988*		at Florida International	W 89–66	8–0	Golden Panther Arena Miami, Florida
Dec 22, 1988*		vs. Northwestern	W 77–71	9–0	Golden Panther Arena Miami, Florida
Dec 28, 1988*		Texas State	W 75–59	10–0	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
MAC regular season
Jan 4, 1989		Western Michigan	W 65–63	11–0 (1–0)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Jan 7, 1989		at Ohio	L 57–71	11–1 (1–1)	Convocation Center Athens, Ohio
Jan 11, 1989		Central Michigan	W 77–56	12–1 (2–1)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Jan 14, 1989		at Bowling Green	W 79–73	13–1 (3–1)	Anderson Arena Bowling Green, Ohio
Jan 18, 1989		Toledo	L 46–49	13–2 (3–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Jan 21, 1989*		at Butler	W 54–44	14–2	Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 25, 1989		Kent State	W 78–62	15–2 (4–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Jan 28, 1989		at Eastern Michigan	W 68–66	16–2 (5–2)	Bowen Field House Ypsilanti, Michigan
Feb 1, 1989		at Miami (OH)	W 66–51	17–2 (6–2)	Millett Hall Oxford, Ohio
Feb 4, 1989		Ohio	W 80–70	18–2 (7–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Feb 8, 1989		at Central Michigan	W 66–65	19–2 (8–2)	Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Feb 11, 1989		Bowling Green	W 64–51	20–2 (9–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Feb 15, 1989*		at Toledo	W 74–69	21–2 (10–2)	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
Feb 22, 1989	No. 20	at Kent State	W 73–61	22–2 (11–2)	MAC Center Kent, Ohio
Feb 25, 1989	No. 20	Eastern Michigan	W 76–63	23–2 (12–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Mar 1, 1989	No. 19	Miami (OH)	W 78–60	24–2 (13–2)	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
Mar 4, 1989	No. 19	at Western Michigan	W 92–79	25–2 (14–2)	University Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan
MAC Tournament
Mar 10, 1989*	No. 19	vs. Ohio MAC Tournament Quarterfinal	W 62–46	26–2	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
Mar 11, 1989*	No. 19	vs. Eastern Michigan MAC Tournament Semifinal	W 77–76	27–2	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
Mar 12, 1989*	No. 19	vs. Kent State MAC Tournament Championship	W 67–65	28–2	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
NCAA Tournament
Mar 16, 1989*	(9 MW) No. 18	vs. (8 MW) Pittsburgh First round	W 68–64	29–2	RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 18, 1989*	(9 MW) No. 18	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Illinois Second round	L 60–72	29–3	RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[5]

Rankings[]

References[]

^ "2018–19 Ball State Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved March 21, 2020.
^ O'Gara, Ryan. "Chandler Thompson returns to coach Central". Muncie Star-Press. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
^ Wheeler, Donovan. "SHAWN PARRISH INTERVIEW: HIS TEAMS MADE HIM GREAT". National Road Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
^ Hoellen, John. "Big Sleeper is Beginning to Awaken". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
^ "Record Book" (PDF). Ball State Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2020.

[1] "2018–19 Ball State Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved March 21, 2020.

[2] O'Gara, Ryan. "Chandler Thompson returns to coach Central". Muncie Star-Press. Retrieved 27 March 2018.

[3] Wheeler, Donovan. "SHAWN PARRISH INTERVIEW: HIS TEAMS MADE HIM GREAT". National Road Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

[4] Hoellen, John. "Big Sleeper is Beginning to Awaken". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

[5] "Record Book" (PDF). Ball State Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2020.

[1]

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[3]

[4]

[5]

v t Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Ball Gymnasium (1925–1963) Irving Gymnasium (1963–1992) John E. Worthen Arena (1992–present)
Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal
People	Statistical leaders
Seasons	1943–44 1975–76 1988–89 1989–90 1999–2000 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22

1988–89 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball

MAC regular season champions MAC Tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 18
1988–89 record	29–3 (14–2 MAC)
Head coach	Rick Majerus (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Dick Hunsaker Leonard Drake Kirk Earlywine
MVP	Curtis Kidd
Home arena	Irving Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1989–90 →

1988–89 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 18 Ball State †	14	–	2	.875	29	–	3	.906
Kent State	12	–	4	.750	21	–	10	.677
Toledo	11	–	5	.688	18	–	13	.581
Eastern Michigan	8	–	8	.500	17	–	12	.586
Central Michigan	7	–	9	.438	13	–	15	.464
Bowling Green	7	–	9	.438	13	–	15	.464
Western Michigan	6	–	10	.375	12	–	16	.429
Ohio	6	–	10	.375	13	–	16	.448
Miami (OH)	1	–	15	.063	5	–	23	.179

† 1989 MAC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll