1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
Record25–9 (12–4 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coachJerry DeGregorio (1st season)
Home arenaKeaney Gymnasium
Seasons
1997–98 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 24 Temple 13 – 3   .813 21 – 9   .700
Rhode Island 12 – 4   .750 25 – 9   .735
UMass 12 – 4   .750 21 – 11   .656
St. Bonaventure 6 – 10   .375 17 – 15   .531
Saint Joseph's 3 – 13   .188 11 – 17   .393
Fordham 2 – 14   .125 6 – 21   .222
West
No. 23 Xavier † 11 – 5   .688 22 – 8   .733
George Washington 11 – 5   .688 24 – 9   .727
Dayton 11 – 5   .688 21 – 12   .636
Virginia Tech 5 – 11   .313 10 – 17   .370
Duquesne 5 – 11   .313 11 – 19   .367
La Salle 5 – 11   .313 9 – 18   .333
† 1998 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island in the 1997–98 college basketball season. This was head coach Jim Harrick's first of two seasons at Rhode Island. The Rams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and played their home games at Keaney Gymnasium. They finished the season 25–9, 12–4 in A-10 play and lost in the semifinals of the 1998 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 1998 NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Stanford in the Midwest Regional final.

As of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, this is the furthest any Rhode Island men's team has ever advanced in the NCAA tournament.

Roster

1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 12 Cuttino Mobley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 21 Tyson Wheeler 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr New London, Connecticut
F Lamar Odom Current redshirt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
—
 Fr Queens, New York
F/C 34 Antonio Reynolds-Dean 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Marietta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 17, 1997*
 No. 21 North Carolina-Wilmington W 78–69  1–0
 Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Nov 19, 1997*
 No. 20 at No. 12 Connecticut L 67–80  1–1
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, Connecticut
Nov 30, 1997*
 at Boston University W 86–63  2–1
 Case Gym 
Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 3, 1997*
 at Brown W 75–57  3–1
 Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 9, 1997*
 Providence W 69–58  4–1
 Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Dec 13, 1997*
 UNLV W 91–73  5–1
 Keaney Gymnasium (6,429)
Kingston, Rhode Island
Dec 22, 1997*
 No. 22 Ohio W 85–72  6–1
 Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Dec 29, 1997*
 No. 24 vs. No. 7 Stanford
Cable Car Classic 		L 69–70  6–2
 San Jose Arena (6,109)
San Jose, California
Dec 30, 1997*
 No. 24 vs. Penn
Cable Car Classic 		W 96–89  7–2
 San Jose Arena 
San Jose, California
Jan 4, 1998
 No. 24 at Temple W 74–64  8–2
(1–0) 		Liacouras Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 6, 1998
 No. 23 at Saint Joseph's W 83–68  9–2
(2–0) 		Hagan Arena 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 10, 1998
 No. 23 Duquesne W 83–76  10–2
(3–0) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 13, 1998
 No. 20 at La Salle W 84–73  11–2
(4–0) 		The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 15, 1998*
 No. 20 Tulane W 85–61  12–2
 Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 17, 1998
 No. 20 at St. Bonaventure L 81–86  12–3
(4–1) 		Reilly Center 
St. Bonaventure, New York
Jan 22, 1998
 No. 22 Virginia Tech W 73–66  13–3
(5–1) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 25, 1998*
 No. 22 at No. 21 Cincinnati L 82–88  13–4
 Myrl Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 29, 1998
 No. 21 UMass L 57–74  13–5
(5–2) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 1, 1998
 No. 21 at Fordham W 75–70  14–5
(6–2) 		Rose Hill Gym 
Bronx, New York
Feb 3, 1998
 Saint Joseph's W 94–76  15–5
(7–2) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 7, 1998*
 California W 72–63  16–5
 Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 8, 1998
 St. Bonaventure W 67–66  17–5
(8–2) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 10, 1998
 No. 25 at No. 17 George Washington W 69–61  18–5
(9–2) 		Charles E. Smith Center 
Washington, D.C.
Feb 14, 1998
 No. 25 Temple L 67–68  18–6
(9–3) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 18, 1998
 at No. 18 UMass W 87–85 2OT 19–6
(10–3) 		Mullins Center 
Amherst, Massachusetts
Feb 21, 1998
 at Dayton L 62–71  19–7
(10–4) 		University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
Feb 24, 1998
 Xavier W 69–68  20–7
(11–4) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 28, 1998
 Fordham W 71–57  21–7
(12–4) 		Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Atlantic 10 tournament
Mar 5, 1998*
 (E2) vs. (W3) Dayton
Quarterfinals 		W 83–70  22–7
 The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 6, 1998*
 (E2) vs. (W1) Xavier
Semifinals 		L 80–95  22–8
 The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1998*
 (8 MW) vs. (9 MW) No. 25 Murray State
First round 		W 97–74[1]  23–8
 Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 15, 1998*
 (8 MW) vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kansas
Second Round 		W 80–75[2][3]  24–8
 Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 20, 1998*
 (8 MW) vs. (13 MW) Valparaiso
Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 		W 74–68[4]  25–8
 Scottrade Center 
St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 22, 1998*
 (8 MW) vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Stanford
Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight 		L 77–79[5]  25–9
 Scottrade Center 
St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in EST.

Rankings

Main article: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP212023———222423202221—25————Not released
Coaches2525^——————25232221232425———11

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

Awards and honors

1998 NBA draft

Main article: 1998 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Team
2 41 Cuttino Mobley Houston Rockets
2 47 Tyson Wheeler Toronto Raptors

[6]

References

  1. ^ "Harrick and Rhode Island Post a Bittersweet Win". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Rhode Island Stuns Kansas". The New York Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "Rhode Island Sends Kansas Home Early". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "URI, Stanford in Final Eight". The Washington Post. March 21, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Stanford Defeats Rhode Island in Midwest Regional final, 79-77". The New York Times. March 23, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2021.