1997–98 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by tenth-year head coach Homer Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. This season is one of the most memorable in program history[2] as the Crusaders made a run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. The opening round victory over Ole Miss is best known for "The Shot" that sparked the Crusaders' Cinderella run. The team finished with a record of 23–10 (13–3 Mid-Con).

1997–98 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball
Mid-Con Regular season champions
Mid-Con tournament champions
ConferenceMid-Continent Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 23
Record23–10 (13–3 Mid-Con)
Head coach
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
Seasons
1997–98 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Valparaiso 13 3   .813 23 10   .697
Oral Roberts 12 4   .750 19 12   .613
Youngstown State 11 5   .688 20 9   .690
Western Illinois 11 5   .688 16 11   .593
Buffalo 9 7   .563 15 13   .536
Missouri-Kansas City 7 9   .438 9 18   .333
Southern Utah 4 12   .250 7 20   .259
Northeastern Illinois 3 13   .188 6 19   .240
Chicago State 2 14   .125 2 25   .074
1998 Mid-Con Tournament winner
Rankings from [1]

Roster

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1997–98 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G Jamie Sykes 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Sr  
G 24 Bryce Drew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Valparaiso Valparaiso, Indiana
C 33 Zoran Viskovic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Jr   Croatia
F 44 Bill Jenkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 15, 1997
Bethel (TN) L 75–85  0–1
Athletics-Recreation Center (3,011)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Nov 17, 1997*
No. 8 Purdue L 56–73  0–2
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,412)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Nov 28, 1997*
vs. Montana
Big Island Invitational
W 70–58  1–2
Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (NA)
Hilo, Hawaii
Nov 29, 1997*
vs. No. 15 Stanford
Big Island Invitational
L 65–70  1–3
Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (NA)
Hilo, Hawaii
Nov 30, 1997*
vs. Pacific
Big Island Invitational
W 75–73  2–3
Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (NA)
Hilo, Hawaii
Dec 6, 1997
Elmhurst W 85–70  3–3
Athletics-Recreation Center (3,481)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Dec 9, 1997*
at Wisconsin–Green Bay L 52–60  3–4
Brown County Arena (3,096)
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Dec 13, 1997*
at UIC L 51–72  3–5
UIC Pavilion (3,466)
Chicago, Illinois
Dec 20, 1997
at Missouri-Kansas City W 80–68  4–5
(1–0)
Municipal Auditorium (1,823)
Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 22, 1997
at Belmont W 78–62  5–5
Striplin Gymnasium (230)
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 31, 1997
at Western Illinois L 62–63  5–6
(1–1)
Western Hall (3,144)
Macomb, Illinois
Jan 3, 1998
Chicago State W 82–62  6–6
(2–1)
Athletics-Recreation Center (2,214)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 5, 1998
Northeastern Illinois W 72–69  7–6
(3–1)
Athletics-Recreation Center (3,102)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 8, 1998
at Southern Utah W 79–70  8–6
(4–1)
America First Event Center (3,081)
Cedar City, Utah
Jan 10, 1998
at Oral Roberts L 60–68  8–7
(4–2)
Mabee Center (6,910)
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 17, 1998
Buffalo W 82–80  9–7
(5–2)
Athletics-Recreation Center (3,012)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 21, 1998*
Northern Illinois W 87–73  10–7
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,339)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 24, 1998
Youngstown State L 66–69  10–8
(5–3)
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,413)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 26, 1998*
at Saint Louis L 66–77  10–9
Scottrade Center (15,977)
St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 29, 1998
at Northeastern Illinois W 88–82  11–9
(6–3)
Physical Education Complex (550)
Chicago, Illinois
Jan 31, 1998
at Chicago State W 102–74  12–9
(7–3)
Dickens Athletic Center (403)
Chicago, Illinois
Feb 5, 1998
Oral Roberts W 90–68  13–9
(8–3)
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,341)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Feb 7, 1998
Southern Utah W 66–56  14–9
(9–3)
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,453)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Feb 11, 1998
at Buffalo W 73–64  15–9
(10–3)
Alumni Arena (3,366)
Buffalo, New York
Feb 14, 1998
Belmont W 95–61  16–9
Athletics-Recreation Center (3,876)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Feb 19, 1998
at Youngstown State W 70–68  17–9
(11–3)
Beeghly Center (5,568)
Youngstown, Ohio
Feb 23, 1998
Missouri-Kansas City W 75–65  18–9
(12–3)
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,019)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Feb 25, 1998
Western Illinois W 66–56  19–9
(13–3)
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,524)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Mid-Con tournament
Mar 2, 1998*
(1) vs. (5) Buffalo
Semifinals
W 84–73  20–9
The MARK of the Quad Cities (NA)
Moline, Illinois
Mar 3, 1998*
(1) vs. (3) Youngstown State
Championship Game
W 67–48[3]  21–9
The MARK of the Quad Cities (NA)
Moline, Illinois
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1998*
(13 MW) vs. (4 MW) No. 13 Ole Miss
First round
W 70–69[4]  22–9
Myriad Convention Center (13,349)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 15, 1998*
(13 MW) vs. (5 MW) Florida State
Second Round
W 83–77 OT[5] 23–9
Myriad Convention Center (13,369)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 20, 1998*
(13 MW) vs. (8 MW) Rhode Island
Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 68–74[6]  23–10
Scottrade Center (22,172)
St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[7][8]

Rankings

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[9]

1998 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Team
1 16 Bryce Drew Houston Rockets

[10]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Mid-Continent Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1997-1998 Men's Basketball Team to be Inducted into Valpo's Hall of Fame on February 28". Valparaiso University Athletics. February 23, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Colleges: Men's Basketball: Mid-Continent". The Washington Post. March 4, 1998. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Valparaiso's 'Miracle Shot' Stuns Ole Miss". The Washington Post. March 14, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Truly, This Is Madness: Valparaiso Writing Its Own Fairy Tail". Spokesman-Review. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "URI, Stanford in Final Eight". The Washington Post. March 21, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "Men's Basketball All-Time Results" (PDF). Valparaiso University Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "1997-1998 Valparaiso Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  9. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1064–1065. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  10. ^ "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 21, 2021.