1997–98 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1997–98 men's basketball season. Led by head coach Rick Majerus, the Utes made a run through the NCAA Tournament all the way to the National Championship Game and finished with an overall record of 30–4 (12–2 WAC).

1997–98 Utah Utes men's basketball
WAC Season Champions
NCAA Tournament, National Final
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 7
1997–98 record30–4 (12–2 WAC)
Head coachRick Majerus (9th season)
CaptainMichael Doleac
Drew Hansen
Home arenaJon M. Huntsman Center
1997–98 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Mountain
No. 7 Utah122 .857  304  .882
No. 18 New Mexico113 .786  248  .750
Wyoming95 .643  199  .679
Colorado State86 .571  209  .690
UNLV †77 .500  2013  .606
BYU410 .286  921  .300
UTEP311 .214  1214  .462
Air Force212 .143  1016  .385
Pacific
No. 15 TCU140 1.000  276  .818
Fresno State104 .714  2113  .618
Tulsa95 .643  1912  .613
Hawaii86 .571  219  .700
SMU68 .429  1810  .643
San Diego State59 .357  1315  .464
Rice311 .214  622  .214
San Jose State113 .071  323  .115
1998 WAC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Including the previous season, Utah won 59 of 67 games overall and 27 of 30 games in conference play.

Roster

1997–98 Utah Utes men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
F/C 13 Hanno Möttölä 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)250 lb (113 kg) So Helsinki, Finland
G 24 Andre Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) Jr Los Angeles, California
F 31 Britton Johnsen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)240 lb (109 kg) Fr Murray, Utah
G 34 Drew Hansen (C)
Sr
F 50 Alex Jensen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg) So Bountiful, Utah
C 51 Michael Doleac (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)260 lb (118 kg) Sr Portland, Oregon
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Schedule

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
    city, state
    Non-Conference Regular Season
    November 15*
    No. 16 Cal-State Fullerton W 87–59  1-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    November 19*
    No. 16 at Weber State W 87–72  2-0
     
    Ogden, UT
    November 22*
    No. 16 Southern Utah W 66–48  3-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    November 25*
    No. 16 at Loyola Marymount W 89–50  4-0
     
    Los Angeles, CA
    November 29*
    No. 16 California-Irvine W 83–45  5-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    December 2*
    No. 11 vs. Providence
    Great Eight Tournament
    W 64–58  6-0
     
    Chicago, IL
    December 6*
    No. 11 at Wake Forest W 62–53  7-0
    LJVM Coliseum 
    Winston-Salem, NC
    December 10*
    No. 9 Utah State W 71–55  8-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    December 12*
    No. 9 Azusa Pacific W 78–58  9-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    December 20*
    No. 7 at Oregon State W 69–61  10-0
     
    Portland, OR
    December 27*
    No. 6 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee W 65–51  11-0
     
    Milwaukee, WI
    January 3
    No. 4 Rice W 73–65  12-0
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    January 10
    No. 3 at BYU W 71–61  13-0
     
    Provo, UT
    WAC Regular Season
    January 15
    No. 4 Colorado State W 65–51  14-0 (1-0)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    January 17
    No. 4 Wyoming W 75–58  15-0 (2-0)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    January 22
    No. 4 at Air Force W 57–46  16-0 (3-0)
     
    Colorado Springs, CO
    January 24
    No. 4 at UNLV W 67–54  17-0 (4-0)
     
    Las Vegas, NV
    January 29
    No. 3 UTEP W 62–56  18-0 (5-0)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    February 1
    No. 3 at New Mexico L 74–77  18-1 (5-1)
     
    Albuquerque, NM
    February 5
    No. 5 BYU W 83–68  19-1 (6-1)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    February 7
    No. 5 at Rice W 60–49  20-1 (7-1)
     
    Houston, TX
    February 12
    No. 5 at Wyoming L 56–62  20-2 (7-2)
     
    Laramie, WY
    February 14
    No. 5 at Colorado State W 60–48  21-2 (8-2)
     
    Fort Collins, CO
    February 21
    No. 6 Air Force W 55–41  22-2 (9-2)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    February 23
    No. 6 UNLV W 79–68  23-2 (10-2)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    February 26
    No. 5 at UTEP W 87–70  24-2 (11-2)
     
    El Paso, TX
    February 28
    No. 5 New Mexico W 65–55  25-2 (12-2)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center 
    Salt Lake City, UT
    WAC Tournament
    March 5*
    No. 5 vs. UNLV
    WAC Tournament Quarterfinal
    L 51–54  25-3
     
    Las Vegas, NV
    NCAA Tournament
    March 12*
    (3) No. 7 vs. (14) San Francisco
    NCAA Tournament First Round
    W 85–68  26-3
    BSU Pavilion 
    Boise, ID
    March 14*
    (3) No. 7 vs. (6) No. 17 Arkansas
    NCAA Tournament Second Round
    W 75–69  27-3
    BSU Pavilion 
    Boise, ID
    March 19*
    (3) No. 7 vs. (10) West Virginia
    West Regional Semifinal
    W 65–62  28-3
    Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 
    Anaheim, CA
    March 21*
    (3) No. 7 vs. (1) No. 4 Arizona
    West Regional Final
    W 76–51[2]  29-3
    Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 
    Anaheim, CA
    March 28*
    (3) No. 7 vs. (1) No. 1 North Carolina
    Final Four
    W 65–59[3]  30-3
    Alamodome 
    San Antonio, TX
    March 30*
     CBS
    (3) No. 7 vs. (2) No. 5 Kentucky
    NCAA Championship Game
    L 69–78  30-4
    Alamodome 
    San Antonio, TX
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

    [4]

    Rankings

    Team players in the 1998 NBA Draft

    RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
    112Michael DoleacOrlando Magic

    [5]

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    gollark: Achievement ideas wanted by the way?
    gollark: Heavpoot has been coming up with ways it could work thus share credit.
    gollark: Fine, ubqheav323poot.
    gollark: Heavpoot devised an excellent* idea: autobotrobot achievement system.

    References

    1. sports-reference.com 1997-98 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
    2. "Ute Movement Buries Arizona". Los Angeles Times. March 22, 1998. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
    3. "Utes Hold off Tar Heels, 65-59". The Washington Post. March 29, 1998. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
    4. 2014-15 Utah Utes men's basketball media guide. Retrieved 2015-Jul-30.
    5. "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
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