1989 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1989 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 9–12, 1989 at John F. Savage Hall in Toledo, Ohio. Ball State defeated Kent State, 67–65 in the championship game, to win its second MAC Tournament title.

1989 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1988–89
Teams	9
Site	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
Champions	Ball State (2nd title)
Winning coach	Rick Majerus (1st title)
MVP	Billy Butts (Ball State)
MAC Men's Basketball Tournaments

1988–89 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	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

The Cardinals earned an automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA Tournament as #9 seed in the Midwest region. In the round of 64, Ball State defeated Pittsburgh 68–64 to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.

Format

All Nine conference members participated, with the top 7 teams receiving a bye to the quarterfinal round.

Bracket

	First Round March 9					Quarterfinals March 9–10					Semifinals March 10–11					Final March 12
						1	Ball State	62
						8	Ohio	46
	8	Western Michigan	55
	9	Ohio	61
											1	Ball State	77
										4	Eastern Michigan	76
						4	Eastern Michigan	70
						5	Miami (OH)	69
																1	Ball State	67
																3	Kent State	65
						3	Toledo	75
						6	Central Michigan	55
											3	Toledo	43
										2	Kent State	88
						2	Kent State	65
						7	Bowling Green	56

[1]

References

1. "1988-89 Mid-American Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2020.