1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
Big East 6 Division Regular Season Champions; Big East tournament champions
NCAA men's Division I tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 6
Record	32–5 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Calhoun (12th season);
Assistant coaches	Karl Hobbs; Dave Leitao; Tom Moore;
Home arena	Hartford Civic Center; Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Big East 6
No. 6 Connecticut†	15	–	3	.833	32	–	5	.865
St. John's	13	–	5	.722	22	–	10	.688
West Virginia	11	–	7	.611	24	–	9	.727
Villanova	8	–	10	.444	12	–	17	.414
Notre Dame	7	–	11	.389	13	–	14	.481
Boston College	6	–	12	.333	15	–	16	.484
Big East 7
No. 21 Syracuse	12	–	6	.667	26	–	9	.743
Miami	11	–	7	.611	18	–	10	.643
Seton Hall	9	–	9	.500	15	–	15	.500
Providence	7	–	11	.389	13	–	16	.448
Pittsburgh	6	–	12	.333	11	–	16	.407
Rutgers	6	–	12	.333	14	–	15	.483
Georgetown	6	–	12	.333	16	–	15	.516

† 1998 Big East tournament winner As of March 30, 1998^[1]^[2]^[3] Rankings from AP poll

The 1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1997–98 collegiate men's basketball season. The Huskies completed the season with a 32–5 overall record. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference where they finished with a 15–3 record. They made it to the Elite Eight in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Huskies played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut and the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and they were led by twelfth-year head coach Jim Calhoun.^[4]^[5]

Roster

Listed are the student athletes who were members of the 1997–1998 team.^[6]

Name	Position	Year
Chris Crowley		FR
Jeff Cybart	G	SR
Khalid El-Amin	G	FR
Kevin Freeman	F	SO
Sam Funches	F	SO
Craig Glazer	G	FR
Richard Hamilton	F	SO
Monquencio Hardnett	G	SR
E.J. Harrison	G	JR
Rashamel Jones	F	JR
Antric Klaiber	F	JR
Ricky Moore	G	JR
Albert Mouring	G	FR
Jake Voskuhl	C	SO
Souleymane Wane	C	SO

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
11/15/1997* WTNH	No. 12	Yale	W 88–57	1–0	Hartford Civic Center (13,391) Hartford, Connecticut
11/17/1997*	No. 12	Boston University Preseason NIT	W 68–54	2–0	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,311) Storrs, Connecticut
11/19/1997* ESPN	No. 12	No. 20 Rhode Island Preseason NIT	W 80–67	3–0	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,592) Storrs, Connecticut
11/24/1997* WTNH	No. 12	Coppin State	W 72–50	4–0	Hartford Civic Center (13,212) Hartford, Connecticut
11/26/1997* ESPN	No. 11	vs. No. 25 Florida State Preseason NIT	L 60–67	4–1	Madison Square Garden (11,510) New York City
11/28/1997* ESPN	No. 11	vs. Arizona State Preseason NIT	W 82–61	5–1	Madison Square Garden (12,254) New York
12/3/1997 WTNH	No. 12	West Virginia	W 88–75	6–1 (1–0)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,621) Storrs, Connecticut
12/7/1997 WTNH	No. 12	at Rutgers	W 59–44	7–1 (2–0)	Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,112) Piscataway, New Jersey
12/10/1997* WTNH	No. 13	at Virginia	W 74–63	8–1	University Hall (6,841) Charlottesville, Virginia
12/20/1997* WTNH	No. 12	UNC Wilmington	W 93–55	9–1	Hartford Civic Center (13,911) Hartford, Connecticut
12/23/1997* ESPN	No. 11	Massachusetts MassMutual UGame	W 72–55	10–1	Hartford Civic Center (10,797) Hartford, Connecticut
12/28/1997* WTNH	No. 11	Hartford	W 100–69	11–1	Hartford Civic Center (14,505) Hartford, Connecticut
12/30/1997* WTNH	No. 10	Fairfield	W 90–63	12–1	Hartford Civic Center (14,313) Hartford, Connecticut
1/3/1998 WTNH	No. 10	Notre Dame	W 84–58	13–1 (3–0)	Hartford Civic Center (15,101) Hartford, Connecticut
1/6/1998 WTNH	No. 10	at Miami	L 67–76	13–2 (3–1)	Miami Arena (8,247) Miami, Florida
1/11/1998 WTNH	No. 8	at Boston College	W 80–68	14–2 (4–1)	Conte Forum (7,976) Boston
1/13/1998 WTNH	No. 10	Seton Hall	W 80–59	15–2 (5–1)	Hartford Civic Center (14,756) Hartford, Connecticut
1/17/1998 CBS	No. 10	Georgetown Rivalry	W 86–72	16–2 (6–1)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
1/19/1998 ESPN	No. 10	at St. John's	L 62–64	16–3 (6–2)	Madison Square Garden (11,768) New York
1/24/1998 CBS	No. 8	at No. 15 Syracuse Rivalry	W 63–54	17–3 (7–2)	Carrier Dome (25,718) Syracuse, New York
1/27/1998 ESPN2	No. 9	at Providence	W 63–56	18–3 (8–2)	Providence Civic Center (12,978) Providence, Rhode Island
1/31/1998 WTNH	No. 9	Rutgers	W 73–56	19–3 (9–2)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
2/2/1998 ESPN	No. 9	Villanova	W 80–65	20–3 (10–2)	Hartford Civic Center (15,439) Hartford, Connecticut
2/7/1998* CBS	No. 7	Stanford	W 76–56	21–3	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
2/11/1998 ESPN	No. 6	at No. 16 West Virginia	L 62–80	21–4 (10–3)	WVU Coliseum (15,167) Morgantown, West Virginia
2/14/1998 WTNH	No. 6	Pittsburgh	W 92–67	22–4 (11–3)	Hartford Civic Center (15,467) Hartford, Connecticut
2/17/1998 ESPN2	No. 7	at Notre Dame	W 88–79	23–4 (12–3)	Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,273) Notre Dame, Indiana
2/21/1998 WTNH	No. 7	at Villanova	W 83–73	24–4 (13–3)	Wells Fargo Center (12,934) Philadelphia
2/23/1998 ESPN	No. 7	Providence	W 77–68	25–4 (14–3)	Hartford Civic Center (16,129) Hartford, Connecticut
2/28/1998 WTNH	No. 6	St. John's	W 87–58	26–4 (15–3)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
Big East tournament
3/5/1998 ESPN	No. 6	vs. Providence Quarterfinals	W 64–55	27–4	Madison Square Garden (15,377) New York
3/6/1998 ESPN	No. 6	vs. Rutgers Semifinals	W 64–50	28–4	Madison Square Garden (19,548) New York
3/7/1998 ESPN	No. 6	vs. No. 22 Syracuse Championship/Rivalry	W 69–54	29–4	Madison Square Garden (18,521) New York
NCAA tournament
3/12/1998* CBS	No. 6 (2)	vs. No. (15) Fairleigh Dickinson First Round	W 93–85^[7]	30–4	MCI Center (19,288) Washington, D.C.
3/14/1998* CBS	No. 6 (2)	vs. No. (7) Indiana Second Round	W 78–68	31–4	MCI Center (19,320) Washington, D.C.
3/19/1998* CBS	No. 6 (2)	vs. No. (11) Washington Sweet Sixteen	W 75–74	32–4	Greensboro Coliseum Complex (23,235) Greensboro, North Carolina
3/21/1998* CBS	No. 6 (2)	vs. No. 1 (1) North Carolina Elite Eight	L 64–75	32–5	Greensboro Coliseum Complex (23,235) Greensboro, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:^[4]^[8]

Rankings

**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Final
AP	12	12	11	13	13	12	11	10	8	10	8	9	7	6	7	6	6	6	N/A

References

^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Big East Conference Season Summary
^ Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
^ ^a ^b 2015-16 Connecticut Basketball History (PDF). UConn Huskies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
^ Davis, Ken (September 30, 2010). The University of Connecticut Basketball Vault: The History of the Huskies. Atlanta: Whitman LLC. ISBN 978-0794828035.
^ "1997-98 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats".
^ "Fairleigh Dickinson Gives UConn a Scare". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
^ "Connecticut Men's Basketball Archive Schedule". UConn Huskies. Retrieved March 9, 2016.

[1] sports-reference.com 1997-98 Big East Conference Season Summary

[2] Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.

[3] "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.

[cstv-4] 2015-16 Connecticut Basketball History (PDF). UConn Huskies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.

[5] Davis, Ken (September 30, 2010). The University of Connecticut Basketball Vault: The History of the Huskies. Atlanta: Whitman LLC. ISBN 978-0794828035.

[6] "1997-98 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats".

[7] "Fairleigh Dickinson Gives UConn a Scare". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[8] "Connecticut Men's Basketball Archive Schedule". UConn Huskies. Retrieved March 9, 2016.

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v t e UConn Huskies men's basketball
Venues	Willis Nichols Hawley Armory (1914–1954) Hugh S. Greer Field House (1954–1989) XL Center (1975–present) New Haven Coliseum (1978–1987) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (1990–present) Webster Bank Arena (2013–2014)
Rivalries	Georgetown Syracuse UMass
Culture & lore	Blue blood status Gambling scandal Jonathan the Husky "UConn Husky" 6-overtime game 2011 Miracle Run
People	Head coaches NBA players Huskies of Honor Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics