# 1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rebels were led by sixth-year head coach, Rob Evans. The Rebels played their home games at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. This season marked the third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 19, 1997* | No. 21 | Louisiana Tech | W 88–56 | 1–0 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| November 22, 1997* | No. 21 | No. 18 Temple | W 87–74 | 2–0 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| November 24, 1997* | No. 21 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 81–36 | 3–0 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| December 5, 1997* | No. 14 | vs. LIU Brooklyn | W 102–99 | 4–0 | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| December 6, 1997* | No. 14 | at Ball State | L 66–70 | 4–1 | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| December 13, 1997* | No. 21 | at Wichita State | W 71–48 | 5–1 | Levitt Arena Wichita, KS |
| December 17, 1997* | No. 18 | Belmont | W 100–59 | 6–1 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| December 20, 1997* | No. 18 | Prairie View A&M | W 106–59 | 7–1 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| December 22, 1997* | No. 18 | at Louisville | W 74–70 | 8–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| December 30, 1997* | No. 16 | Northwestern State | W 99–52 | 9–1 | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| January 3, 1998 | No. 16 | No. 11 South Carolina | W 73–54 | 10–1 (1–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 7, 1998 | No. 14 | Florida | W 90–79 | 11–1 (2–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 10, 1998 | No. 14 | at Alabama | W 74–63 | 12–1 (3–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 17, 1998 | No. 11 | at Tennessee | L 67–77 | 12–2 (3–1) | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| January 21, 1998 | No. 13 | LSU | W 80–58 | 13–2 (4–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 24, 1998 | No. 13 | Mississippi State | W 81–77 | 14–2 (5–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 28, 1998 | No. 12 | at Georgia | L 68–70 | 14–3 (5–2) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| January 31, 1998 | No. 12 | at Auburn | L 67–68 | 14–4 (5–3) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| February 5, 1998 | No. 17 | at No. 14 Arkansas | L 87–100 | 14–5 (5–4) | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| February 7, 1998 | No. 17 | Alabama | W 75–74 | 15–5 (6–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| February 11, 1998 | No. 18 | Vanderbilt | W 87–76 | 16–5 (7–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| February 14, 1998 | No. 18 | at No. 7 Kentucky | W 73–64 | 17–5 (8–4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 18, 1998 | No. 15 | at LSU | W 83–57 | 18–5 (9–4) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 21, 1998 | No. 15 | at Mississippi State | W 82–78 | 19–5 (10–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| February 25, 1998 | No. 13 | No. 12 Arkansas | W 81–65 | 20–5 (11–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| February 28, 1998 | No. 13 | Auburn | W 74–67 | 21–5 (12–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| March 6, 1998 | (1 W) No. 10 | vs. (5 E) Georgia Quarterfinals | W 72–67 | 22–5 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| March 7, 1998 | (1 W) No. 10 | vs. (2 E) No. 15 South Carolina Semifinals | L 77–87 | 22–6 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 13, 1998* CBS | (4 MW) No. 13 | vs. (13 MW) Valparaiso First round | L 69–70 | 22–7 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 23 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 13 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —^ | 18 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 20 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

## Awards and honors

* Ansu Sesay – SEC Player of the Year, Consensus Second-Team All-American

## 1998 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 2 | 30 | Ansu Sesay | Dallas Mavericks |