1988–89 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1988–89 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	† 1989 SEC Tournament winner ; Rankings from AP Poll

1988–89 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
1988–89 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1988–89 record	13–19 (8–10 SEC)
Head coach	Eddie Sutton (4th season);
Home arena	Rupp Arena
	Seasons ← 1987–88 1989–90 →

The 1988–89 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky in the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home game in Lexington, Kentucky at Rupp Arena.The team was led by Third-year head coachEddie Sutton

During the season, Head Coach Eddie Sutton tenure at Kentucky ended after a scandal and a losing record tarnished the school's basketball program. Kentucky enter the season lacking significant talents in their lineup. Sophomore standout Eric Manuel was suspected of cheating on his college entrance exam and agreed to sit out until the investigation was finished. Potential star recruit Shawn Kemp transferred out of Kentucky after signing with the school earlier that year. The Wildcats were placed in the hands of inexperienced Sophomore LeRon Ellis and freshman Chris Mills. The two underclassmen struggled to fill in the talent on the court resulting in the wildcats first full season losing record since 1927.

Another scandal broke when it was alleged that some employees from Emery Worldwide discovered $1,000 cash in an envelop sent by Kentucky Assistant head coach Dwane Casey to Chris Mills father. It was later shown that Assistant head coach Dwane Casey was uninvolved in the incident.

^[2] and the team finished the season with an overall record of 13–19, Kentucky's first losing season since 1927.^[3]

References[]

^ sports-reference.com 1988-89 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ "1988-1989 Kentucky Wildcats Roster and Stats". Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ "1988-1989 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". Retrieved 2 November 2013.

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[1] sports-reference.com 1988-89 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[2] "1988-1989 Kentucky Wildcats Roster and Stats". Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[3] "1988-1989 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

1988–89 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Florida	13	–	5	.722	21	–	13	.618
No. 20 Alabama †	12	–	6	.667	23	–	8	.742
Vanderbilt	12	–	6	.667	19	–	14	.576
LSU	11	–	7	.611	20	–	12	.625
Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	19	–	11	.633
Kentucky	8	–	10	.444	13	–	19	.406
Ole Miss	8	–	10	.444	15	–	15	.500
Mississippi State	7	–	11	.389	13	–	15	.464
Georgia	6	–	12	.333	15	–	16	.484
Auburn	2	–	16	.111	9	–	19	.321

† 1989 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

v t Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre College (historical) Florida Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & lore	History under Adolph Rupp Basketbowl Champions Classic Fabulous Five "The Shot" The Unforgettables 2011 Indiana game The Rivalry: Red v. Blue
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Players Recruiting history Statistical leaders
Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1913–14 1920–21 1932–33 1933–34 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1957–58 1960–61 1965–66 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 1988–89 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics