The 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1997 and concluded with 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 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 All NCAA Division I teams played as members of conferences for the first time in American college basketball history. Tubby Smith led the Kentucky Wildcats to their seventh national championship.
Pre-season polls The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll. Associated PressRankingTeam1Arizona2Kansas3Duke4North Carolina5Clemson6UCLA7South Carolina8Kentucky9Purdue10Xavier11New Mexico12Connecticut13Fresno State14Stanford15Iowa16Utah17Indiana18Charlotte19Georgia20Oklahoma21Rhode Island22Texas23Ole Miss24Temple25Louisville
Conference membership changes
These schools joined new conferences for the 1997–98 season.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference NAIA independent Southwestern Athletic Conference Mid-Continent Conference Northeast Conference Northeast Conference Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Southern Conference Mid-American Conference CIAA (D-II) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Midwestern Collegiate Conference Mid-American Conference NCAA Division I independent Mid-Continent Conference Northeast Conference Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Trans America Athletic Conference Southland Conference NCAA Division I independent Mid-Continent Conference Mid-Continent Conference Trans America Athletic Conference Big South Conference Southern Conference NCAA Division I independent Southern Conference
New arenas
Georgetown, which had used off-campus USAirways Arena (previously known as Capital Centre and USAir Arena) in Landover, Maryland, as its home court since the 1981–82 season, played three last home games there in November 1997 before moving in December 1997 to the new MCI Center (later known as the Verizon Center and as Capital One Arena), an off-campus site in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas played their first home game at the MCI Center on December 3, 1997, losing their Big East Conference opener to 73–69 before a crowd of 13,181.
Regular season Early-season tournaments Name Dates Site Teams Champions Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic Nov. 11–12 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ Red Auerbach Classic Nov. 14–15 Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, DC Preseason NIT Nov. 17–28 Campus sites and Madison Square Garden, New York, NY AT&T Shootout Nov. 21–22 Alumni Hall, Fairfield, CT Lobo Classic Nov. 21–22 University Arena, Albuquerque, NM Top of the World Classic Nov. 21–23 Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK Maui Invitational Nov. 24–26 Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, HI Great Alaska Shootout Nov. 27–29 Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK Puerto Rico Shootout Nov. 27–29 Eugene Guerra Sports Complex, San Juan, PR Coca-Cola Classic Nov. 28–29 Cumberland County Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, NC Coca-Cola Spartan Classic Nov. 28–29 Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI Pepsi Marist Classic Nov. 28–29 McCann Arena, Poughkeepsie, NY Racer Thanksgiving Tournament Nov. 28–29 Racer Arena, Murray, KY Big Island Invitational Nov. 28–30 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo, HI San Juan Shootout Nov. 28–30 Caguas Municipal Complex, San Juan, PR Golden Panther Thanksgiving Tournament Nov. 29–30 Golden Panther Arena, Miami, FL United Airlines Tip-Off Tournament Nov. 29–30 Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI Phoenix Classic Dec. 4–5 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT Ameritas Classic Dec. 5–6 Devaney Center, Lincoln, NE Cyclone Challenge Dec. 5–6 Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA First Merchants Bank/CVC Classic Dec. 5–6 Worthen Arena, Muncie, IN Jam Fest Tournament Dec. 5–6 Moby Arena, Fort Collins, CO Marquette Tournament Dec. 5–6 Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI Montana Holiday Tournament Dec. 5–6 Harry Adams Field House, Missoula, MT Northwestern Mutual Classic Dec. 5–6 War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, CA Pizza Hut Classic Dec. 5–6 Hammons Student Center, Springfield, MO Super Chevy Shootout Dec. 5–6 Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA TCBY Holiday Classic Dec. 5–6 Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, AR PowerBar Classic Dec. 6–7 Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI Franklin National Bank Classic Dec. 7–8 MCI Center, Washington, DC
Conferences Conference winners and tournaments Twenty-eight conferences concluded their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Ivy League and the Pacific-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Most conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.