1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 60th annual edition of the tournament began on March 12, 1998, and ended with the championship game on March 30, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A total of 63 games were played.

The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their third consecutive Final Four, Stanford, making their first appearance since their initial Final Four run in 1942, Utah, making their fourth Final Four and first since 1966, and North Carolina, who returned for a fourteenth overall time and third in four seasons.

Kentucky won the national title, its second in three seasons and seventh overall, by defeating Utah 78–69 in the championship game.

Jeff Sheppard of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last three games in the tournament, including a 17-point second half comeback against the Duke Blue Devils, leading to the school's fans dubbing the team the "Comeback Cats". This was Kentucky's third straight championship game appearance.

Bryce Drew led the 13th-seeded Valparaiso Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen, including a memorable play that remains part of March Madness lore.

For the second consecutive season, a #14 seed advanced from the first round; Richmond, coached by John Beilein, upset South Carolina.

For the second time in three years, a top seeded team failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. That distinction belonged to Midwest Region #1 seed Kansas, who was defeated by #8 seed Rhode Island.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1998 tournament:

First and Second Rounds March 12 and 14 East Region Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) MCI Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: George Mason University) West Region BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University) ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Host: University of the Pacific) March 13 and 15 Midwest Region United Center, Chicago, Illinois (Host: Big Ten Conference) Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) South Region Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 19 and 21 East Regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) West Regional, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference) March 20 and 22 Midwest Regional, Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference) South Regional, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 28 and 30 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

Teams There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10).

Three conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Northern Arizona (Big Sky), Radford (Big South), and Prairie View A&M (SWAC). Additionally, UIC received an at-large bid for its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Automatic qualifiers +Automatic qualifiersConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCNorth Carolina32nd1997America EastDelaware3rd1993Atlantic 10Xavier12th1997Big 12Kansas27th1997Big EastConnecticut19th1995Big SkyNorthern Arizona1stBig SouthRadford1stBig TenMichigan (vacated)–1995Big WestUtah State12th1988CAARichmond6th1991Conference USACincinnati17th1997Ivy LeaguePrinceton21st1997MAACIona4th1985MACEastern Michigan4th1996MCCButler3rd1997MEACSouth Carolina State3rd1996Mid-ContinentValparaiso3rd1997Missouri ValleyIllinois State6th1997NECFairleigh Dickinson3rd1988Ohio ValleyMurray State9th1997Pac-10Arizona17th1997PatriotNavy11th1997SECKentucky39th1997SouthernDavidson6th1986SouthlandNicholls State2nd1995SWACPrairie View A&M1stSun BeltSouth Alabama6th1997TAACCollege of Charleston3rd1997WACUNLV13th1991West CoastSan Francisco16th1982

Tournament seeds +East Regional – Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North CarolinaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1North CarolinaACC30–3Automatic2ConnecticutBig East29–4Automatic3South CarolinaSEC22–6At-Large4Michigan StateBig Ten20–7At-Large5PrincetonIvy League26–1Automatic6XavierAtlantic 1022–7Automatic7IndianaBig Ten19–11At-Large8UNC CharlotteConference USA19–10At-Large9UICMCC22–5At-Large10OklahomaBig 1222–10At-Large11WashingtonPac-1018–9At-Large12UNLVWAC20–12Automatic13Eastern MichiganMAC20–9Automatic14RichmondCAA22–7Automatic15Fairleigh DickinsonNEC23–6Automatic16NavyPatriot19–10Automatic+South Regional – Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FloridaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1DukeACC29–3At-Large2KentuckySEC29–4Automatic3Michigan (vacated)Big Ten24–8Automatic4New MexicoWAC23–7At-Large5SyracuseBig East24–8At-Large6UCLAPac-1022–8At-Large7UMassAtlantic 1021–10At-Large8Oklahoma StateBig 1221–7At-Large9George WashingtonAtlantic 1024–8At-Large10Saint LouisConference USA21–10At-Large11Miami (FL)Big East18–9At-Large12IonaMAAC27–5Automatic13ButlerMCC22–10Automatic14DavidsonSouthern20–9Automatic15South Carolina StateMEAC22–7Automatic16RadfordBig South20–9Automatic+West Regional – Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1ArizonaPac-1027–4Automatic2CincinnatiConference USA26–5Automatic3UtahWAC25–3At-Large4MarylandACC19–10At-Large5IllinoisBig Ten22–9At-Large6ArkansasSEC23–8At-Large7TempleAtlantic 1021–8At-Large8TennesseeSEC20–8At-Large9Illinois StateMissouri Valley24–5Automatic10West VirginiaBig East22–8At-Large11NebraskaBig 1220–11At-Large12South AlabamaSun Belt21–6Automatic13Utah StateBig West25–7Automatic14San FranciscoWest Coast19–10Automatic15Northern ArizonaBig Sky21–7Automatic16Nicholls StateSouthland19–9Automatic+Midwest Regional – Kiel Center, St. Louis, MissouriSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1KansasBig 1234–3Automatic2PurdueBig Ten26–7At-Large3StanfordPac-1026–4At-Large4Ole MissSEC22–6At-Large5TCUWAC27–5At-Large6ClemsonACC18–13At-Large7St. John'sBig East22–9At-Large8Rhode IslandAtlantic 1022–8At-Large9Murray StateOhio Valley29–3Automatic10DetroitMCC24–5At-Large11Western MichiganMid-American20–7At-Large12Florida StateACC17–13At-Large13ValparaisoMid-Continent21–9Automatic14College of CharlestonTAAC24–5Automatic15DelawareAmerica East20–9Automatic16Prairie View A&MSWAC13–16Automatic

Bids by conference Bids by ConferenceBidsConference(s) 5 Atlantic 10, ACC, Big Ten, Big East, SEC 4 Big 12, Pac-10, WAC 3 C-USA, MCC (Horizon League) 2 MAC 1 19 others

Bracket East Regional – Greensboro, North Carolina

Regional Final Summary

East Regional all-tournament team Antawn Jamison – North Carolina (MOP) Khalid El-Amin – UConn Richard Hamilton – UConn Vince Carter – North Carolina Ed Cota – North Carolina Shammond Williams – North Carolina

West Regional – Anaheim, California

Regional Final Summary

West Regional all-tournament team Andre Miller – Utah (MOP) Mike Bibby – Arizona Michael Doleac – Utah Alex Jensen – Utah Hanno Mottola – Utah

South Regional – St. Petersburg, Florida

All of Michigan's wins from the 1997–98 season were vacated on November 7, 2002, as part of the settlement of the University of Michigan basketball scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with the removal of any Michigan wins from all records.

Regional Final Summary

South Regional all-tournament team Wayne Turner – Kentucky (MOP) Trajan Langdon – Duke Roshown McLeod – Duke Scott Padgett – Kentucky Jeff Sheppard – Kentucky

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Regional Final Summary

Midwest Regional all-tournament team Arthur Lee – Stanford (MOP) Cuttino Mobley – Rhode Island Tyson Wheeler – Rhode Island Mark Madsen – Stanford Bryce Drew – Valparaiso

Final Four – San Antonio, Texas

National semifinals

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team Jeff Sheppard – Kentucky (MOP) Scott Padgett – Kentucky Arthur Lee – Stanford Andre Miller – Utah Michael Doleac – Utah

Announcers Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Michele Tafoya – First & Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia; South Regional at St. Petersburg, Florida; Final Four at San Antonio, Texas Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Andrea Joyce – First & Second Round at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Greensboro, North Carolina Gus Johnson/Jon Sundvold/Armen Keteyian – First & Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut; West Regional at Anaheim, California Tim Brando/Al McGuire/Craig James – First & Second Round at Lexington, Kentucky; Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri Ted Robinson/Rolando Blackman/Beth Mowins – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Jim Durham/Greg Kelser/Mike Mayock – First & Second Round at Boise, Idaho Tim Ryan/Dan Bonner/Jimmy Dykes – First & Second Round at Chicago, Illinois Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Mike Harris – First & Second Round at Sacramento, California

Greg Gumbel rejoined CBS Sports and for the first time served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg and former North Carolina coach Dean Smith.

See also 1998 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 1998 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 1998 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 1998 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 1998 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 1998 National Invitation Tournament 1998 Women's National Invitation Tournament 1998 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1998 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament

References