# 1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented University of Cincinnati as a member of Conference USA during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bob Huggins, serving in his 9th year at the school. The team won regular season and Conference USA tournament titles to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 2 seed in the West region. After an opening round victory over Northern Arizona, Cincinnati was upset in the second round by West Virginia, 75–74. The Bearcats finished with a 27–6 record (14–2 C-USA).

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 17, 1997* | | Detroit | W 76–66 | 1–0 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nov 19, 1997* | | Arizona State | L 79–87 | 1–1 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nov 30, 1997* | | Morehead State | W 87–57 | 2–1 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 3, 1997* | | Alcorn State | W 90–76 | 3–1 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | Wright State | W 85–60 | 4–1 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | at No. 7 Xavier | L 68–88 | 4–2 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 17, 1997* | | Minnesota | W 81–71 | 5–2 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | Eastern Kentucky | W 106–53 | 6–2 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 27, 1997* | | vs. UMass Gatorade Rock 'n Roll Shootout | W 74–66 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | Gund Arena (12,324) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | Winthrop | W 79–36 | 8–2 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 4, 1998 | | at Houston | W 81–68 | 9–2 (1–0) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1998 | | Memphis | W 61–54 | 10–2 (2–0) | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 11, 1998 | | No. 20 Marquette | W 68–51 | 11–2 (3–0) | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | Southern Miss | W 77–61 | 12–2 (4–0) | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 18, 1998 | | at Louisville | W 71–57 | 13–2 (5–0) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 20, 1998 | No. 21 | at Tulane | W 60–50 | 14–2 (6–0) | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Jan 22, 1998 | No. 21 | at Marquette | L 63–66 $^{OT}$ | 14–3 (6–1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 25, 1998* | No. 21 | No. 22 Rhode Island | W 88–82 | 15–3 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | Louisville | W 67–61 | 16–3 (7–1) | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 1, 1998* | | at No. 13 South Carolina | L 65–67 | 16–4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | at DePaul | W 109–73 | 17–4 (8–1) | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Conference USA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1998* | (1) No. 14 | (9) Louisville Quarterfinals | W 64–50 | 24–5 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 6, 1998* | (1) No. 14 | (4) UAB Semifinals | W 100–85 | 25–5 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 7, 1998* | (1) No. 14 | (2) Charlotte Championship Game | W 71–57 | 26–5 | Myrl Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (2 W) No. 9 | vs. (15 W) Northern Arizona First Round | W 65–62 | 27–5 | BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho |
| Mar 14, 1998* | (2 W) No. 9 | vs. (10 W) West Virginia Second Round | L 74–75 | 27–6 | BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||

## 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 9 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 14 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll. *AP did not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings