Xavier defeated Evansville in the championship game, 85–78, to win their fourth consecutive (fifth overall) MCC/Horizon League men's basketball tournament.
The Musketeers received an automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA tournament as the #14 seed in the Southeast region. Evansville received an at-large bid as the #11 seed in the West region. Xavier lost to the eventual national champion, Michigan, in the first round. Evansville defeated Oregon State, before losing to eventual national runner-up Seton Hall in the second round.
Format
All seven conference members participated in the tournament and were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top seed (Evansville) earning a bye into the semifinal round.
