1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
Record20–9 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaThompson–Boling Arena
1997–98 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 5 Kentucky 14 2   .875 35 4   .897
No. 14 South Carolina 11 5   .688 23 8   .742
9 7   .563 20 9   .690
Georgia 7 9   .438 20 15   .571
Vanderbilt 7 9   .438 20 13   .606
Florida 6 10   .375 14 15   .483
West
No. 13 Ole Miss 12 4   .750 22 7   .759
No. 17 Arkansas 11 5   .688 24 9   .727
Auburn 7 9   .438 16 14   .533
Alabama 6 10   .375 15 16   .484
Mississippi State 4 12   .250 15 15   .500
LSU 2 14   .125 9 18   .333
1998 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Jerry Green, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. After finishing third in the SEC East regular season standings with a 9–7 conference record, they were invited to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the West region where they lost in the opening round.

Roster

1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 15 Brandon Wharton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Jr   Nashville, Tennessee
F 43 C. J. Black 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
So   Chattanooga, Tennessee
F 44 Isiah Victor 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr   Hopkinsville, Kentucky
F 55 Charles Hathaway 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
So Hillwood Nashville, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    [2]

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Nov 14, 1997*
    Winthrop W 75–62  1–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Nov 17, 1997*
    Miami (OH) W 75–74  2–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Nov 19, 1997*
    UNC Asheville W 75–69  3–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Nov 23, 1997*
    Austin Peay W 74–65  4–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Nov 28, 1997*
    Appalachian State W 69–46  5–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Dec 2, 1997*
    Tennessee Tech W 83–69  6–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Dec 7, 1997*
    Wofford W 92–63  7–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Dec 9, 1997*
    Saint Joseph's W 74–54  8–0
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Dec 20, 1997*
    at Memphis W 68–66  9–0
    Pyramid Arena 
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Dec 30, 1997*
    at USC W 74–70  10–0
    Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
    Los Angeles, California
    Jan 3, 1998
    at Florida L 69–83  10–1
    (0–1)
    Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
    Gainesville, Florida
    Jan 7, 1998
    Auburn L 69–74  10–2
    (0–2)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Jan 10, 1998
    at Vanderbilt L 79–80  10–3
    (0–3)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Jan 17, 1998
    No. 11 Ole Miss W 77–67  11–3
    (1–3)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Jan 21, 1998
    8:00 pm, JPS[3]
    at No. 14 South Carolina L 51–81  11–4
    (1–4)
    Carolina Coliseum 
    Columbia, South Carolina
    Jan 24, 1998
    No. 7 Kentucky L 67–85  11–5
    (1–5)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Jan 28, 1998
    at Alabama W 84–70  12–5
    (2–5)
    Coleman Coliseum 
    Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Jan 31, 1998
    at LSU W 72–65  13–5
    (3–5)
    Maravich Assembly Center 
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Feb 4, 1998
    Georgia W 77–48  14–5
    (4–5)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Feb 7, 1998
    2:00 pm, JPS[3]
    No. 13 South Carolina W 70–69  15–5
    (5–5)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Feb 11, 1998
    8:00 pm, JPS[3]
    at No. 7 Kentucky L 74–80  15–6
    (5–6)
    Rupp Arena 
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Feb 14, 1998
    12:30 pm, JPS[3]
    No. 12 Arkansas W 74–71  16–6
    (6–6)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Feb 17, 1998
    at Mississippi State W 87–63  17–6
    (7–6)
    Humphrey Coliseum 
    Starkville, Mississippi
    Feb 21, 1998
    Vanderbilt W 90–76  18–6
    (8–6)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Feb 25, 1998
    Florida W 79–75  19–6
    (9–6)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Feb 28, 1998
    4:00 pm, JPS[3]
    at Georgia L 72–77  19–7
    (9–7)
    Stegeman Coliseum 
    Athens, Georgia
    SEC tournament
    Mar 5, 1998*
    JPS
    vs. LSU
    First Round
    W 73–62  20–7
    Georgia Dome 
    Atlanta, Georgia
    Mar 5, 1998*
    JPS
    vs. Arkansas
    Quarterfinals
    L 96–102  20–8
    Georgia Dome 
    Atlanta, Georgia
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 12, 1998*
    CBS
    (8 W) vs. (9 W) Illinois State
    First Round
    L 81–82 OT 20–9
    ARCO Arena (15,284)
    Sacramento, California
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    W=West.
    All times are in Eastern Time.

    Source[4][5]

    Rankings

    References

    1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
    2. ^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
    3. ^ a b c d e Jefferson Pilot Sports Southeastern Conference Basketball – 1998 Television Schedule, Jefferson Pilot Sports, archived from the original on February 16, 1998, retrieved September 28, 2023
    4. ^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
    5. ^ "2019-20 Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2022.