1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 100th basketball season. The head coach was Roy Williams, who served his 10th year at KU. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They are known for having the distinction of playing an unprecedented 34 regular season games.

1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Preseason NIT champions
Big 12 Regular Season champions
Big 12 Tournament champions
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionNorth
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 2
Record35–4 (15–1 Big 12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaAllen Fieldhouse
Seasons
1997–98 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Kansas 15 1   .938 35 4   .897
Oklahoma State 11 5   .688 22 7   .759
Oklahoma 11 5   .688 22 11   .667
Nebraska 10 6   .625 20 12   .625
Baylor 8 8   .500 14 14   .500
Missouri 8 8   .500 17 15   .531
Texas Tech 7 9   .438 13 14   .481
Kansas State 7 9   .438 17 12   .586
Colorado 7 9   .438 13 14   .481
Texas 6 10   .375 14 17   .452
Iowa State 5 11   .313 12 18   .400
Texas A&M 1 15   .063 7 20   .259
1998 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll [1]

Roster

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Name # Position Height Weight Year Home Town
Nick Bradford 21 Forward 6-6 175 Sophomore Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jeff Carey 22 Forward/Center 6–10 230 Freshman (RS) Camdenton, Missouri
Eric Chenowith 44 Center 7–0 235 Freshman Orange, California
Lester Earl 3 Forward/Center 6-8 235 Sophomore Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Kenny Gregory 20 Guard 6–5 215 Freshman Columbus, Ohio
Jelani Janisse 23 Guard 6–3 200 Junior Los Angeles, California
Raef LaFrentz 45 Forward 6–11 235 Senior Hampton, Iowa
Chris Martin 30 Guard 6–2 190 Junior Overland Park, Kansas
C.B. McGrath 24 Guard 5-11 173 Senior Topeka, Kansas
Terry Nooner 5 Guard 6–0 170 Sophomore Raytown, Missouri
Paul Pierce 34 Forward 6–7 220 Junior Inglewood, California
T.J. Pugh 32 Forward/Center 6–8 246 Junior Omaha, Nebraska
Ryan Robertson 4 Guard 6–5 182 Junior Saint Charles, Missouri
Billy Thomas 12 Guard 6–4 208 Senior Shreveport, Louisiana

Big 12 Conference standings

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# Team Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
1 Kansas
15-1
.938
35-4
.897
2 Oklahoma State
11-5
.688
22-7
.759
3 Oklahoma
11-5
.688
22-11
.667
4 Nebraska
10-6
.625
20-12
.625
5 Baylor
8-8
.500
14-14
.500
6 Missouri
8-8
.500
17-15
.531
7 Texas Tech
7–9
.438
13-14
.481
8 Kansas State
7-9
.438
17-12
.586
9 Colorado
7-9
.438
13-14
.481
10 Texas
6-10
.375
14-17
.452
11 Iowa State
5-11
.313
12-18
.400
12 Texas A&M
1-15
.063
7-20
.529

[2]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
11/14/1997*
No. 2 Santa Clara W 99-73  1–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
11/17/1997*
No. 2 Rice W 88-61  2–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
11/18/1997*
No. 2 Western Kentucky
Preseason NIT first round
W 75-62  3–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
11/21/1997*
No. 2 UNLV
Preseason NIT Second round
W 92-68  4–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
11/26/1997*
No. 2 vs. Arizona State
Preseason NIT Semifinals
W 90-88 OT 5-0
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
11/28/1997*
No. 2 vs. Florida State
Preseason NIT Championship Game
W 73-58  6-0
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
12/02/1997*
No. 2 vs. No. 4 Arizona
Great Eight
W 90-87  7-0
United Center 
Chicago, IL
12/04/1997*
No. 2 Emporia State W 102-50  8-0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawnrence, KS
12/07/1997*
No. 2 vs. No. 23 Maryland
BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament first round
L 83-86  8-1
Verizon Center 
Washington, DC
12/08/1997*
No. 2 vs. Penn
BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament Third-place game
W 89-71  9-1
Verizon Center 
Washington, DC
12/10/1997*
No. 3 UMass W 73-71  10-1
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/13/1997*
No. 3 Middle Tennessee State W 103-68  11-1
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/18/1997*
No. 2 Pepperdine W 96-83  12-1
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/20/1997*
No. 2 vs. No. 24 TCU
Sprint Shootout
W 94-78  13-1
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
12/23/1997*
No. 2 at USC W 74-69  14-1
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
12/28/1997*
No. 2 vs. Ohio State
Rainbow Classic First round
W 69-56  15-1
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, HI
12/29/1997*
No. 2 vs. Vanderbilt
Rainbow Classic Semifinals
W 89-82  16-1
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, HI
12/30/1997*
No. 2 vs. Hawaii
Rainbow Classic Championship Game
L 65-76  16-2
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, HI
1/3/1998
No. 2 Nebraska W 97-76  17-2
(1–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/7/1998
No. 4 Colorado W 111-62  18-2
(2–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/10/1998
No. 4 at Texas W 102-72  19-2
(3–0)
Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, TX
1/14/1998
No. 3 at Texas A&M W 83-65  20-2
(4–0)
Reed Arena 
College Station, TX
1/17/1998
No. 3 Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 69-62  21-2
(5–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/19/1998
No. 3 at Missouri
Border War
L 73-74  21-3
(5–1)
Hearnes Center 
Columbia, MO
1/24/1998
No. 3 Texas Tech W 88-49  22-3
(6–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/28/1998
No. 5 Baylor W 94-47  23-3
(7–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/1/1998
No. 5 at Nebraska W 82-71  24-3
(8–1)
Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, NE
2/4/1998
No. 3 at Iowa State W 83-62  25-3
(9–1)
Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, IA
2/8/1998
No. 3 Missouri
Border War
W 80-70  26-3
(10–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/14/1998
No. 4 at Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 73-58  27-3
(11–1)
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
2/16/1998
No. 4 at Colorado W 81-72  28-3
(12–1)
Coors Events Center 
Boulder, CO
2/21/1998
No. 4 Iowa State W 71-54  29-3
(13–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/23/1998
No. 4 Oklahoma W 83-70  30-3
(14–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
3/1/1998
No. 4 at No. 25 Oklahoma State W 71-67  31-3
(15–1)
Gallagher-Iba Arena 
Stillwater, OK
Big 12 Tournament
3/6/1998
(1) No. 3 vs. (8) Kansas State
Quarterfinals
W 68–61  32–3
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
3/7/1998
(1) No. 3 vs. (4) Nebraska
Semifinals
W 91–59  33–3
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
3/8/1998
(1) No. 3 vs. (3) Oklahoma
Championship Game
W 72–58  34–3
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
3/13/1998*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 2 vs. (16 MW) Prairie View A&M
First round
W 110–52  35–3
Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, OK
3/15/1998*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 2 vs. (8 MW) Rhode Island
Second round
L 75–80  35–4
Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, NCAA tournament seeds shown in parentheses. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Standard Time.

[3]

Rankings

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Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17
AP 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 4 3 3 5 3 4 4 4 3 2
Coaches

*There was no coaches poll in week 1.

References

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  1. ^ 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Big 12 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF) (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 1, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  3. ^ "Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball 1997-98 Season Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (English) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013.