Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 18th year.
The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 27–8 and a conference record of 15–3, finishing 1st in the Big Ten Conference.
As the Big Ten Conference Champions, the Hoosiers were invited to participate in the 1989 NCAA tournament as a 2-seed.
IU made it to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to 3-seed and eventual national runner-up Seton Hall.