# 1997–98 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 1997–98 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1997–98 men's college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Eddie Fogler and played their home games at Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina. The team finished second in the SEC East regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the East region. The Gamecocks lost to 14 seed Richmond in the first round to finish the season with a record of 23–8 (11–5 SEC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 14, 1997* | No. 7 | vs. Maryland Black Coaches Association Classic | W 76–72 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Nov 21, 1997* | No. 6 | The Citadel | W 77–58 | 2–0 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 1, 1997* | No. 5 | Belmont | W 72–61 | 3–0 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 5, 1997* | No. 5 | vs. Virginia Tech | W 74–73 | 4–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 6, 1997* | No. 5 | vs. Chattanooga | W 67–55 | 5–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 17, 1997* | No. 6 | at Clemson | L 57–62 | 5–1 | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Dec 20, 1997* | No. 6 | Saint Joseph's | W 77–65 | 6–1 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 23, 1997* | No. 10 | South Carolina State | W 90–85 | 7–1 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 30, 1997* | No. 11 | Towson | W 65–55 | 8–1 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 3, 1998 | No. 11 | at No. 16 Ole Miss | L 54–73 | 8–2 (0–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 7, 1998 | No. 16 | Vanderbilt | W 71–70 | 9–2 (1–1) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 10, 1998 | No. 16 | LSU | W 70–53 | 10–2 (2–1) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 13, 1998 | No. 14 | at No. 6 Kentucky | L 70–91 | 10–3 (2–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 18, 1998 | No. 14 | at Georgia | W 68–60 | 11–3 (3–2) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Jan 21, 1998 | No. 14 | Tennessee | W 81–51 | 12–3 (4–2) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 24, 1998 | No. 14 | at Auburn | W 61–56 | 13–3 (5–2) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 26, 1998* | No. 13 | at Furman | W 79–52 | 14–3 | Timmons Arena Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 28, 1998 | No. 13 | Florida | W 74–72 | 15–3 (6–2) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 1, 1998* | No. 13 | No. 18 Cincinnati | W 67–65 | 16–3 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 3, 1998 | No. 13 | at Vanderbilt | W 65–61 | 17–3 (7–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 7, 1998 | No. 13 | at Tennessee | L 69–70 | 17–4 (7–3) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 11, 1998 | No. 15 | Alabama | W 74–63 | 18–4 (8–3) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 14, 1998 | No. 15 | Mississippi State | W 76–65 | 19–4 (9–3) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 18, 1998 | No. 13 | at No. 16 Arkansas | L 88–96 | 19–5 (9–4) | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Feb 21, 1998 | No. 13 | at Florida | W 79–74 | 20–5 (10–4) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 24, 1998 | No. 14 | Georgia | W 78–76 | 21–5 (11–4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 28, 1998 | No. 14 | No. 7 Kentucky | L 57–69 | 21–6 (11–5) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1998* | (E2) No. 15 | vs. (E6) Florida Quarterfinals | W 71–60 | 22–6 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 7, 1998* | (E2) No. 15 | vs. (W1) No. 10 Ole Miss Semifinals | W 87–77 | 23–6 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 8, 1998* | (E2) No. 15 | vs. (E1) No. 7 Kentucky Championship Game | L 56–86 | 23–7 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (3 E) No. 14 | vs. (14 E) Richmond First Round | L 61–62 | 23–8 | Verizon Center Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||