1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their seventh national championship by defeating the Utah Utes 78–69 on March 30, 1998. They were coached by Tubby Smith and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Jeff Shepherd.

In the 32-team 1998 National Invitation Tournament, the Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Following the season, the 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First team included Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, and Miles Simon. The consensus second team was composed of Vince Carter, Mateen Cleaves, Pat Garrity, Richard Hamilton, and Ansu Sesay.

Season headlines edit

Pre-season polls edit

The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll.

Associated Press
RankingTeam
1Arizona
2Kansas
3Duke
4North Carolina
5Clemson
6UCLA
7South Carolina
8Kentucky
9Purdue
10Xavier
11New Mexico
12Connecticut
13Fresno State
14Stanford
15Iowa
16Utah
17Indiana
18Charlotte
19Georgia
20Oklahoma
21Rhode Island
22Texas
23Ole Miss
24Temple
25Louisville

Conference membership changes edit

These schools joined new conferences for the 1997–98 season.

SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
Arkansas–Pine BluffNCAA Division IISouthwestern Athletic Conference
Central Connecticut StateMid-Continent ConferenceNortheast Conference
MaristNortheast ConferenceMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference
MarshallSouthern ConferenceMid-American Conference
Norfolk StateNCAA Division IIMid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Northern IllinoisMidwestern Collegiate ConferenceMid-American Conference
Oral RobertsNCAA Division I IndependentMid-Continent Conference
RiderNortheast ConferenceMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Southeastern LouisianaTrans America Athletic ConferenceSouthland Conference
Southern UtahNCAA Division I IndependentMid-Continent Conference
Troy StateMid-Continent ConferenceTrans America Athletic Conference
UNC GreensboroBig South ConferenceSouthern Conference
WoffordNCAA Division I IndependentSouthern Conference

Regular season edit

Conference winners and tournaments edit

28 conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Ivy League and the Pac-10 choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners generally received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

ConferenceRegular
season winner[1]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
America East ConferenceDelawareSpeedy Claxton, Hofstra[2]1998 America East men's basketball tournamentBob Carpenter Center
(Newark, Delaware)
Delaware[3]
Atlantic 10 ConferenceTemple (East)
Xavier (West)
Cuttino Mobley, Rhode Island[4]1998 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournamentThe Spectrum
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Xavier[5]
Atlantic Coast ConferenceDukeAntawn Jamison, North Carolina[6]1998 ACC men's basketball tournamentGreensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
North Carolina[7]
Big 12 ConferenceKansasRaef LaFrentz, Kansas[8]1998 Big 12 men's basketball tournamentKemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
Kansas[9]
Big East ConferenceConnecticut (Big East 6)
Syracuse (Big East 7)
Richard Hamilton, Connecticut[10]1998 Big East men's basketball tournamentMadison Square Garden
(New York City, New York)
Connecticut[10]
Big Sky ConferenceNorthern ArizonaAndrew Mavis, Northern Arizona[11]1998 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournamentDee Events Center
(Ogden, Utah)
Northern Arizona[11]
Big South ConferenceUNC AshevilleJosh Pittman, UNC Asheville[12]1998 Big South Conference men's basketball tournamentVines Center
(Lynchburg, Virginia)
Radford[12]
Big Ten ConferenceMichigan StateMateen Cleaves, Michigan State[13]1998 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournamentUnited Center
(Chicago, Illinois)
Michigan[13]
Big West ConferencePacific (Eastern)
Utah State (Western)
Michael Olowokandi, Pacific[14]1998 Big West Conference men's basketball tournamentLawlor Events Center
(Reno, Nevada)
Utah State[14]
Colonial Athletic AssociationWilliam & MaryJarod Stevenson, Richmond[15]1998 CAA men's basketball tournamentRichmond Coliseum
(Richmond, Virginia)
Richmond[15]
Conference USACincinnati (American)
Memphis (National)
DeMarco Johnson, Charlotte[16]1998 Conference USA men's basketball tournamentShoemaker Center
(Cincinnati, Ohio)
Cincinnati[16]
Ivy LeaguePrincetonSteve Goodrich, Princeton[17]No Tournament
Metro Atlantic Athletic ConferenceIonaKashif Hameed, Iona[18]1998 MAAC men's basketball tournamentPepsi Arena
(Buffalo, New York)
Iona[19]
Mid-American ConferenceAkron (East)
Ball State (West)
Bonzi Wells, Ball State[20]1998 MAC men's basketball tournamentSeaGate Convention Centre
(Toledo, Ohio)
Eastern Michigan[20]
Mid-Continent ConferenceValparaisoBryce Drew, Valparaiso[21]1998 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournamentThe MARK of the Quad Cities
(Moline, Illinois)
Valparaiso[21]
Mid-Eastern Athletic ConferenceCoppin StateAntoine Brockington, Coppin State1998 MEAC men's basketball tournamentRichmond Coliseum
(Richmond, Virginia)
South Carolina State
Midwestern Collegiate ConferenceDetroitMark Miller, Illinois-Chicago[22]1998 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournamentBrown County Veterans Memorial Arena
(Green Bay, Wisconsin)
Butler
Missouri Valley ConferenceIllinois StateRico Hill, Illinois State[23]1998 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournamentSavvis Center
(St. Louis, Missouri)
Illinois State
Northeast ConferenceLong IslandCharles Jones, Long Island[24]1998 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournamentSpiro Sports Center
(Staten Island, New York)
Fairleigh Dickinson[25]
Ohio Valley ConferenceMurray StateDe'Teri Mayes, Murray State[26]1998 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournamentGaylord Entertainment Center
(Nashville, Tennessee)
(Semifinals and Finals)
Murray State[26]
Pacific-10 ConferenceArizonaMike Bibby, Arizona[27]No Tournament
Patriot LeagueLafayetteStefan Ciosici, Lafayette[28]1998 Patriot League men's basketball tournamentKirby Sports Center
(Easton, Pennsylvania)
Navy[29]
Southeastern ConferenceKentucky (East)
Ole Miss (West)
Ansu Sesay, Ole Miss[30]1998 SEC men's basketball tournamentGeorgia Dome
(Atlanta, Georgia)
Kentucky
Southern ConferenceAppalachian State (North)
Chattanooga (South)
Bobby Phillips, Western Carolina (Coaches)[31] & Chuck Vincent, Furman (Media)[31]1998 Southern Conference men's basketball tournamentGreensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
Davidson[32]
Southland ConferenceUTSARoderic Hall, UTSA[33]1998 Southland Conference men's basketball tournamentHirsch Memorial Coliseum
(Shreveport, Louisiana)
(Semifinals & Finals)
Nicholls State
Southwestern Athletic ConferenceTexas SouthernRandy Bolden, Texas Southern[34]1998 SWAC men's basketball tournamentF. G. Clark Center
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Prairie View A&M
Sun Belt ConferenceSouth AlabamaChico Fletcher, Arkansas State[35]1998 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournamentCajundome
(Lafayette, Louisiana)
South Alabama
Trans America Athletic ConferenceCharleston (East)
Georgia State
(West)
Mark Jones, UCF[36]1998 TAAC men's basketball tournamentMemorial Coliseum
(Jacksonville, Florida)
Charleston
West Coast ConferenceGonzagaBakari Hendrix, Gonzaga[37]1998 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournamentToso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
San Francisco
Western Athletic ConferenceTCU (Mountain)
Utah (Pacific)
Lee Nailon, TCU[38]1998 WAC men's basketball tournamentThomas & Mack Center
(Las Vegas, Nevada)
UNLV

Statistical leaders edit

Source for additional stats categories

PlayerSchoolPPGPlayerSchoolRPGPlayerSchoolAPGPlayerSchoolSPG
Charles JonesLong Island29.0Ryan PerrymanDayton12.5Ahlon LewisArizona St.9.2Bonzi WellsBall St.3.6
Earl BoykinsE. Michigan25.7Eric TaylorSt. Francis (PA)11.9Chico FletcherArkansas State8.3Pepe SánchezTemple3.4
Lee NailonTCU24.9Raef LaFrentzKansas11.4Sean ColsonUNC Charlotte8.0Willie ColemanDePaul3.3
Brett EppehimerLehigh24.7Tremaine FowlkesFresno St.11.2Ed CotaNorth Carolina7.4J. R. CamelMontana3.1
Cory CarrTexas Tech23.3Michael OlowokandiPacific11.2Charles JonesLong Island7.4Jason RoweLoyola (MD)3.1
Field-goal percentage
Three-Point FG percentage
Free-throw percentage
PlayerSchoolBPGPlayerSchoolFG%PlayerSchool3FG%PlayerSchoolFT%
Jerome JamesFlorida A&M4.6Todd MacCullochWashington65.0Jim CantamessaSiena56.4Matt SundbladLamar92.3
Calvin BoothPenn St.4.4Ryan MossUALR65.0Coby TurnerDayton51.7Louis BullockMichigan91.1
Alvin JonesGeorgia Tech4.3Jarrett StephensPenn St.64.0Royce OlneyNew Mexico51.3Shammond WilliamsN. Carolina91.1
Etan ThomasSyracuse3.9Isaac SpencerMurray St.63.3Mike BeamHarvard51.3Kevin AultMissouri St.90.0
Brian SkinnerBaylor3.5Brad MillerPurdue63.2Kenyan WeaksFlorida50.8Clifton EllisTexas St.90.0

Postseason tournaments edit

NCAA tournament edit

Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas edit

National semifinalsNational championship game
      
E1North Carolina59
W3Utah65
W3Utah69
S2Kentucky78
S2Kentucky86
M3Stanford85

National Invitation tournament edit

Semifinals & finals edit

SemifinalsFinals
      
 Georgia60
 Penn State66
 Penn State72
 Minnesota79
 Fresno State89
 Minnesota91
  • Third Place - Georgia 95, Fresno State 79

Award winners edit

Consensus All-American teams edit

[39]

Consensus First Team
PlayerPositionClassTeam
Mike BibbyGSophomoreArizona
Antawn JamisonFJuniorNorth Carolina
Raef LaFrentzCSeniorKansas
Paul PierceFJuniorKansas
Miles SimonGSeniorArizona


Consensus Second Team
PlayerPositionClassTeam
Vince CarterFJuniorNorth Carolina
Mateen CleavesGSophomoreMichigan State
Pat GarrityFSeniorNotre Dame
Richard HamiltonF-GSophomoreConnecticut
Ansu SesayFSeniorMississippi

Major player of the year awards edit

Major freshman of the year awards edit

Major coach of the year awards edit

Other major awards edit

References edit

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