The 1997–98 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 19th in conference history, and involved its 13 full-time member schools.
Connecticut was the regular-season champion of the Big East 6 Division with a record of , and Syracuse won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of . Connecticut won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights For the last time, the Big East used the divisional structure which had debuted in the 1995–96 season, with six of its teams playing in the Big East 6 Division and seven in the Big East 7 Division. The conference returned to a unitary structure the following season. Connecticut was the regular-season champion of the Big East 6 Division with a record of . It was Connecticut's fifth regular-season championship or co-championship and second divisional title. Syracuse won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of . It was Syracuse's sixth regular-season championship or co-championship and first divisional title. Connecticut won its third Big East tournament championship.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 1st Connecticut Jim Calhoun 12th Big East Coach of the Year (4th award) Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 26th Miami Leonard Hamilton 8th Notre Dame John MacLeod 7th Pittsburgh Ralph Willard 4th Providence Pete Gillen 4th Resigned March 27, 1998 Rutgers Kevin Bannon 1st St. John's Fran Fraschilla 2nd Fired May 13, 1998 Seton Hall Tommy Amaker 1st Syracuse Jim Boeheim 22nd Villanova Steve Lappas 6th West Virginia Gale Catlett 20th
Rankings Connecticut was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, finishing at No. 6. West Virginia and Syracuse also spent time in the Top 25, with Syracuse ending the season ranked No. 21.
+ 1997–98 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/17 11/24 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29 1/5 1/12 1/19 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/2 FinalBoston College Connecticut 12 12 11 13 13 12 11 10 8 10 8 9 7 6 7 6 6 6 Georgetown Miami Notre Dame Pittsburgh Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 25 19 19 18 15 15 20 19 23 21 23 22 21 Villanova West Virginia 23 22 25 21 23 17 15 16 20 19 23
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Pat Garrity ND 23.2 Richard Hamilton Conn 21.5 Pitt 19.5 Jamel Thomas Prov 18.5 Antonio Granger BC 17.9
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Tim James Mia 9.4 Isaac Hawkins Pitt 9.2 SJU 8.7 Pat Garrity ND 8.3 Ryan Blackwell Syr 8.2
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Shaheen Holloway SHU 6.5 Pitt 5.9 Martin Ingelsby ND 5.6 John Celestand Vill 5.1 Duane Woodward BC 5.1
StealsNameSchoolSPG Damian Owens WVU 3.0 Pitt 2.5 Kevin Norris Mia 2.4 Jarrod West WVU 2.3 Shernard Long GU 2.3
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Etan Thomas Syr 3.9 Attila Cosby Pitt 2.0 Isaac Hawkins Pitt 1.7 Tim James Mia 1.6 Malik Allen Vill 1.4
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Kostas Maglos BC .591 Isaac Hawkins Pitt .541 Damian Owens WVU .506 Tim James Mia .485 Pat Garrity ND .481
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Conn .404 Geoff Billet RU .390 Antonio Granger BC .390 Levell Sanders SHU .354(no other qualifiers)
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Conn .843 Levell Sanders SHU .835 Rob Hodgson RU .835 Lavor Postell SJU .826 Geoff Billet RU .826
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding The division winner with the best record received the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, the division winner with the second-best record received the No. 2 seed, and the second-place finisher with the best record received the No. 3 seed. The rest of the schools were seeded fourth through thirteenth based on conference record and tiebreakers. Teams seeded fourth through thirteenth played a first-round game, and the other three teams received a bye into the second round.
The tournament's seeding was as follows:
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Miami and St. John's lost in the first round and Syracuse and West Virginia in the regional semifinals. Connecticut was defeated in the East Region final.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Connecticut East 2 Syracuse South 5 West 10 St. John's Midwest 7 Miami South 11
National Invitation Tournament
Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in the same unnamed bracket and both lost to Georgia Tech, Seton Hall in the first round and Georgetown in the second.
School Round 1 Round 2 Georgetown Seton Hall
Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G, So. Defensive Player of the Year: Damian Owens, West Virginia, F, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr. Most Improved Player: Etan Thomas, Syracuse, C, So. Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Notre Dame (12th season)
All-Big East First Team Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G, So., , , Coatesville, Pa. Tim James, Miami, F, Jr., , , Miami, Fla. Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, F, Sr., , , Las Vegas, Nev. Felipe López, St. John's, G, Sr., , , Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Damian Owens, West Virginia, F, Jr., , , Seat Pleasant, Md.
All-Big East Second Team: Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., , , Thomson, Ga. Jamel Thomas, Providence, F, Jr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Levell Sanders, Seton Hall, G, Sr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Zendon Hamilton, St. John's, C, Sr., , , South Floral Park, N.Y. Todd Burgan, Syracuse, F, Sr., , , Detroit, Mich.
All-Big East Third Team: Antonio Granger, Boston College, F, Sr., , , Detroit, Mich. Duane Woodward, Boston College, G, Sr., , , New York, N.Y. Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr., , , Minneapolis, Minn. Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall, G, So., , , Queens, N.Y. Etan Thomas, Syracuse, C, So., , , New York, N.Y.
Big East All-Rookie Team: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr., , , Minneapolis, Minn. Martin Ingelsby, Notre Dame, G, Fr., , , Philadelphia, Pa. Ricardo Greer, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., , , New York, N.Y. Jeff Greer, Rutgers, G, Fr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Metta World Peace, St. John's, F, Fr., , , Queens, N.Y.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1998 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America Second Team: Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48.1 FG%, 37.0 3P%, 627 points Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 44.0 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 795 points
Second Team All-America: Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48.1 FG%, 37.0 3P%, 627 points Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 44.0 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 795 points
AP Honorable Mention Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut
See also 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1997–98 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1997–98 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team 1997–98 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 1997–98 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 1997–98 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team 1997–98 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
References