The 1988–89 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University in the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
The head coach was Bob Wenzel, then in his first season with the Scarlet Knights.
The team played its home games in Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, and was a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference.
The Scarlet Knights finished 3rd in the conference's regular season standings, and would win the Atlantic-10 tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Rutgers fell to Iowa, 87–73, in the opening round.