# 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.

## Roster

| 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

| # | 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 |

## Schedule

| 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. ||||||

## Rankings

| 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.