1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Preseason NIT champions; Big 12 Regular Season champions; Big 12 Tournament champions
NCAA men's Division I tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Big 12 Conference
	North
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 2
Record	35–4 (15–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Roy Williams (10th season);
Assistant coaches	Matt Doherty (5th season); Neil Dougherty (3rd season); Joe Holladay (4th season);
Captains	Raef LaFrentz; C.B. McGrath; Billy Thomas;
Home arena	Allen Fieldhouse
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Big 12 men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Kansas †	15	–	1	.938	35	–	4	.897
Oklahoma State	11	–	5	.688	22	–	7	.759
Oklahoma	11	–	5	.688	22	–	11	.667
Nebraska	10	–	6	.625	20	–	12	.625
Baylor	8	–	8	.500	14	–	14	.500
Missouri	8	–	8	.500	17	–	15	.531
Texas Tech	7	–	9	.438	13	–	14	.481
Kansas State	7	–	9	.438	17	–	12	.586
Colorado	7	–	9	.438	13	–	14	.481
Texas	6	–	10	.375	14	–	17	.452
Iowa State	5	–	11	.313	12	–	18	.400
Texas A&M	1	–	15	.063	7	–	20	.259

† 1998 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll ^[1]

The 1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 100th basketball season. The head coach was Roy Williams, who served his 10th year at KU. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They are known for having the distinction of playing an unprecedented 34 regular season games.

Roster

Name	#	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Home Town
Nick Bradford	21	Forward	6-6	175	Sophomore	Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jeff Carey	22	Forward/Center	6–10	230	Freshman (RS)	Camdenton, Missouri
Eric Chenowith	44	Center	7–0	235	Freshman	Orange, California
Lester Earl	3	Forward/Center	6-8	235	Sophomore	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Kenny Gregory	20	Guard	6–5	215	Freshman	Columbus, Ohio
Jelani Janisse	23	Guard	6–3	200	Junior	Los Angeles, California
Raef LaFrentz	45	Forward	6–11	235	Senior	Hampton, Iowa
Chris Martin	30	Guard	6–2	190	Junior	Overland Park, Kansas
C.B. McGrath	24	Guard	5-11	173	Senior	Topeka, Kansas
Terry Nooner	5	Guard	6–0	170	Sophomore	Raytown, Missouri
Paul Pierce	34	Forward	6–7	220	Junior	Inglewood, California
T.J. Pugh	32	Forward/Center	6–8	246	Junior	Omaha, Nebraska
Ryan Robertson	4	Guard	6–5	182	Junior	Saint Charles, Missouri
Billy Thomas	12	Guard	6–4	208	Senior	Shreveport, Louisiana

Big 12 Conference standings

#	Team	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
1	Kansas	15-1	.938	35-4	.897
2	Oklahoma State	11-5	.688	22-7	.759
3	Oklahoma	11-5	.688	22-11	.667
4	Nebraska	10-6	.625	20-12	.625
5	Baylor	8-8	.500	14-14	.500
6	Missouri	8-8	.500	17-15	.531
7	Texas Tech	7–9	.438	13-14	.481
8	Kansas State	7-9	.438	17-12	.586
9	Colorado	7-9	.438	13-14	.481
10	Texas	6-10	.375	14-17	.452
11	Iowa State	5-11	.313	12-18	.400
12	Texas A&M	1-15	.063	7-20	.529

^[2]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
11/14/1997*	No. 2	Santa Clara	W 99-73	1–0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
11/17/1997*	No. 2	Rice	W 88-61	2–0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
11/18/1997*	No. 2	Western Kentucky Preseason NIT first round	W 75-62	3–0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
11/21/1997*	No. 2	UNLV Preseason NIT Second round	W 92-68	4–0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
11/26/1997*	No. 2	vs. Arizona State Preseason NIT Semifinals	W 90-88 ^OT	5-0	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
11/28/1997*	No. 2	vs. Florida State Preseason NIT Championship Game	W 73-58	6-0	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
12/02/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 4 Arizona Great Eight	W 90-87	7-0	United Center Chicago, IL
12/04/1997*	No. 2	Emporia State	W 102-50	8-0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawnrence, KS
12/07/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 23 Maryland BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament first round	L 83-86	8-1	Verizon Center Washington, DC
12/08/1997*	No. 2	vs. Penn BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament Third-place game	W 89-71	9-1	Verizon Center Washington, DC
12/10/1997*	No. 3	UMass	W 73-71	10-1	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
12/13/1997*	No. 3	Middle Tennessee State	W 103-68	11-1	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
12/18/1997*	No. 2	Pepperdine	W 96-83	12-1	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
12/20/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 24 TCU Sprint Shootout	W 94-78	13-1	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
12/23/1997*	No. 2	at USC	W 74-69	14-1	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
12/28/1997*	No. 2	vs. Ohio State Rainbow Classic First round	W 69-56	15-1	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
12/29/1997*	No. 2	vs. Vanderbilt Rainbow Classic Semifinals	W 89-82	16-1	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
12/30/1997*	No. 2	vs. Hawaii Rainbow Classic Championship Game	L 65-76	16-2	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
1/3/1998	No. 2	Nebraska	W 97-76	17-2 (1–0)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
1/7/1998	No. 4	Colorado	W 111-62	18-2 (2–0)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
1/10/1998	No. 4	at Texas	W 102-72	19-2 (3–0)	Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX
1/14/1998	No. 3	at Texas A&M	W 83-65	20-2 (4–0)	Reed Arena College Station, TX
1/17/1998	No. 3	Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 69-62	21-2 (5–0)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
1/19/1998	No. 3	at Missouri Border War	L 73-74	21-3 (5–1)	Hearnes Center Columbia, MO
1/24/1998	No. 3	Texas Tech	W 88-49	22-3 (6–1)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
1/28/1998	No. 5	Baylor	W 94-47	23-3 (7–1)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
2/1/1998	No. 5	at Nebraska	W 82-71	24-3 (8–1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, NE
2/4/1998	No. 3	at Iowa State	W 83-62	25-3 (9–1)	Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA
2/8/1998	No. 3	Missouri Border War	W 80-70	26-3 (10–1)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
2/14/1998	No. 4	at Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 73-58	27-3 (11–1)	Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, KS
2/16/1998	No. 4	at Colorado	W 81-72	28-3 (12–1)	Coors Events Center Boulder, CO
2/21/1998	No. 4	Iowa State	W 71-54	29-3 (13–1)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
2/23/1998	No. 4	Oklahoma	W 83-70	30-3 (14–1)	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS
3/1/1998	No. 4	at No. 25 Oklahoma State	W 71-67	31-3 (15–1)	Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, OK
Big 12 Tournament
3/6/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (8) Kansas State Quarterfinals	W 68–61	32–3	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
3/7/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (4) Nebraska Semifinals	W 91–59	33–3	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
3/8/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (3) Oklahoma Championship Game	W 72–58	34–3	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
3/13/1998* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (16 MW) Prairie View A&M First round	W 110–52	35–3	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, OK
3/15/1998* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (8 MW) Rhode Island Second round	L 75–80	35–4	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll, NCAA tournament seeds shown in parentheses. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

^[3]

Rankings

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	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
AP	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	4	3	3	5	3	4	4	4	3	2
Coaches

*There was no coaches poll in week 1.

References

^ 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^ "Big 12 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF) (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 1, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
^ "Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball 1997-98 Season Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (English) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013.

[Standings-1] 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.

[2] "Big 12 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF) (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 1, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2009.

[Schedule-3] "Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball 1997-98 Season Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (English) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Venues	Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927) Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955) Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State Missouri
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay Blue blood status Champions Classic "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" Jayhawkers
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 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
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics