1997–98 UMass Minutemen basketball team

1997–98 UMass Minutemen men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Round of 64
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record21–11 (12–4 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliam D. Mullins Memorial Center
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 UMass Minutemen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen, led by second year head coach Bruiser Flint, played their home games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center and are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 12–4 in A-10 play to finish in third place.

Roster

Number Name Position Height Weight Year Hometown
3 Charlton Clarke Guard 6–3 215 Junior Bronx, New York
4 Lari Ketner Center 6–10 268 Junior Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5 Monty Mack Guard 6–3 193 Sophomore South Boston, Massachusetts
10 Jonathan DePina Guard 5–9 175 Freshman South Boston, Massachusetts
12 Ross Burns Guard 6–3 180 Junior Greenfield, Massachusetts
13 Rafael Cruz Guard 6–2 185 Freshman Arecibo, Puerto Rico
14 Andy Maclay Guard 6–4 195 Junior Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
20 Winston Smith Forward 6–5 218 Sophomore Summit, New Jersey
22 Chris Kirkland Forward 6–6 206 Sophomore Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
23 Mike Babul Forward 6–6 204 Sophomore North Attleboro, Massachusetts
25 Ronnell Blizzard Forward 6–8 218 Freshman Waterbury, Connecticut
34 Tyrone Weeks Forward 6–7 258 Senior Philadelphia, PA
40 Ajmal Basit Center/Forward 6–9 248 Sophomore Brooklyn, New York

Schedule

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/22/1997*
 at No. 13 Fresno State L 64–82  0–1
 Selland Arena (10,220)
Fresno, California
11/26/1997*
 vs. SW Louisiana
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 80–64  1–1
 Sullivan Arena (–)
Anchorage, Alaska
11/28/1997*
 vs. No. 6 Purdue
Great Alaska Shootout 		L 69–82  1–2
 Sullivan Arena (8,700)
Anchorage, Alaska
11/29/1997*
 vs. Seton Hall
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 73–60  2–2
 Sullivan Arena (8,700)
Anchorage, Alaska
12/02/1997*
 College of Charleston W 52–40  3–2
 Mullins Center (7,536)
Amherst, Massachusetts
12/06/1997*
 Marshall W 61–59  4–2
 Mullins Center (7,107)
Amherst, MA
12/10/1997*
 at No. 3 Kansas L 71–73  4–3
 Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, Kansas
12/14/1997*
 vs. Boston College
Commonwealth Classic 		W 65–57  5–3
 Fleet Center (9,218)
Boston, Massachusetts
12/20/1997*
 vs. Colorado
Las Vegas Shootout 		W 79–68  6–3
 Thomas & Mack Center (5,000)
Las Vegas, Nevada
12/23/1997*
 at No. 11 Connecticut
U-Game 		L 55–72  6–4
 Hartford Civic Center (10,797)
Hartford, Connecticut
12/27/1997*
 vs. Cincinnati
Gatorade Rock 'n Roll Shootout 		L 66–74 OT 6–5
 Gund Arena (12,324)
Cleveland, Ohio
01/3/1998
 at Saint Joseph's W 72–66  7–5 (1–0)
 Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
01/06/1998
 at Fordham W 73–55  8–5 (2–0)
 Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,217)
The Bronx, New York
01/10/1998
 George Washington W 79–48  9–5 (3–0)
 Mullins Center (9,493)
Amherst, MA
01/15/1998*
 vs. Charlotte
A-10/Conference USA Challenge 		W 68–62 OT 10–5
 Providence Civic Center (3,925)
Providence, Rhode Island
01/17/1997
 Fordham W 62–46  11–5 (4–0)
 Mullins Center (7,110)
Amherst, MA
01/19/1998
 St. Bonaventure W 62–50  12–5 (5–0)
 Mullins Center (7,363)
Amherst, MA
01/22/1998*
 at Davidson W 82–66  13–5
 Belk Arena (4,417)
Davidson, North Carolina
01/24/1998
 at Virginia Tech W 68–59  14–5 (6–0)
 Cassell Coliseum (7,811)
Blacksburg, Virginia
01/29/1998
 at No. 21 Rhode Island W 74–57  15–5 (7–0)
 Providence Civic Center (12,412)
Providence, RI
02/01/1998
 Dayton W 85–69  16–5 (8–0)
 Mullins Center (9,493)
Amherst, MA
02/03/1998
 No. 23 Temple L 47–61  16–6 (8–1)
 Mullins Center (9,493)
Amherst, MA
02/08/1998
 No. 23 at No. 21 Xavier W 73–62  17–6 (9–1)
 Cincinnati Gardens (10,100)
Cincinnati, Ohio
02/10/1998
 No. 20 at Duquesne W 74–68  18–6 (10–1)
 Palumbo Center (5,507)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
02/14/1998
 No. 20 La Salle W 81–71  19–6 (11–1)
 Mullins Center (8,412)
Amherst, MA
02/18/1998
 No. 18 Rhode Island W 85–77 2OT 19–7 (11–2)
 Mullins Center (9,493)
Amherst, MA
02/21/1998
 No. 18 Saint Joseph's W 82–79 OT 20–7 (12–2)
 Mullins Center (9,493)
Amherst, MA
02/25/1998
 No. 20 St. Bonaventure L 70–72 2OT 20–8 (12–3)
 Reilly Center (6,000)
Olean, New York
03/01/1998
 No. 20 at No. 24 Temple L 66–74  20–9 (12–4)
 Apollo of Temple (10,021)
Philadelphia, PA
1998 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament
03/04/1998
 (E3) vs. (W6) Virginia Tech
1st Round 		W 64–58  21–9
 CoreStates Spectrum (6,204)
Philadelphia, PA
03/05/1998
 (E3) vs. (W2) George Washington
Quarterfinal 		L 83–88  21–10
 CoreStates Spectrum (7,545)
Philadelphia, PA
1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
03/13/1998*
 (7 SE) vs. (10 SE) Saint Louis
First Round 		L 46–51  21–11
 Georgia Dome (17,474)
Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References