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

1988–89 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record20–11 (7–7 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coachAlan LeForce
Home arenaETSU/Mountain States Health
Alliance Athletic Center
1988–89 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Chattanooga104 .7141812  .600
Furman95 .6431712  .586
Appalachian State86 .571208  .714
East Tennessee State77 .5002011  .645
The Citadel77 .5001612  .571
Marshall68 .4291515  .500
VMI59 .3571117  .393
Western Carolina410 .2861216  .429
1989 SoCon Tournament winner
As of April 30, 1988
Rankings from AP poll

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.