# 1997–98 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona College during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels, led second-year by head coach Tim Welsh, played their home games at the John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center and were members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Gaels finished second in the MAAC regular season standings, and would go on to win the MAAC Basketball tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament – the program's first appearance in the "Big Dance" since 1985. As the No. 12 seed in the Southeast region, the Gaels lost to No. 5 seed Syracuse in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 15, 1997* | | at Morgan State | W 95–92 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,110) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Nov 21, 1997* | | vs. No. 5 Clemson Top of the World Classic | L 49–79 | 1–1 | Carlson Center (2,839) Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Nov 22, 1997* | | vs. Duquesne Top of the World Classic | L 62–64 | 1–2 | Carlson Center (2,234) Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Nov 23, 1997* | | at Alaska-Fairbanks Top of the World Classic | W 85–68 | 2–2 | Carlson Center (2,536) Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | at Rutgers | W 70–62 | 3–2 | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,215) Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 3, 1997 | | Saint Peter's | W 90–72 | 4–2 (1–0) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,510) New Rochelle, New York |
| Dec 5, 1997 | | at Manhattan | L 62–64 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 (1–1) | Draddy Gymnasium (1,373) New York, New York |
| Dec 10, 1997* | | Hofstra | W 78–63 | 5–3 | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (1,487) New Rochelle, New York |
| Dec 14, 1997* | | Fordham | W 80–65 | 6–3 | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,440) New Rochelle, New York |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | Liberty | W 84–68 | 7–3 | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (1,243) New Rochelle, New York |
| Dec 28, 1997* | | Wagner | W 92–52 | 8–3 | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (1,270) New Rochelle, New York |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | Fairfield | W 90–68 | 9–3 (2–1) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,710) New Rochelle, New York |
| Jan 5, 1998* | | at Providence | W 68–62 | 10–3 | Providence Civic Center (8,615) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Jan 8, 1998 | | at Rider | W 90–65 | 11–3 (3–1) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,508) Lawrenceville, New Jersey |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | at Saint Peter's | W 80–60 | 12–3 (4–1) | Yanitelli Center (1,086) Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Jan 13, 1998 | | Manhattan | W 75–72 | 13–3 (5–1) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,521) New Rochelle, New York |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | vs. Niagara | W 81–67 | 14–3 (6–1) | Marine Midland Arena (1,021) Buffalo, New York |
| Jan 19, 1998 | | at Canisius | W 74–65 | 15–3 (7–1) | Marine Midland Arena (4,903) Buffalo, New York |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | at Marist | W 87–72 | 16–3 (8–1) | McCann Arena (2,905) Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Jan 27, 1998* | | at St. Francis (NY) | W 100–69 | 17–3 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (436) Brooklyn, New York |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | Rider | W 69–63 | 18–3 (9–1) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (3,079) New Rochelle, New York |
| Feb 1, 1998 | | Siena | W 83–82 | 19–3 (10–1) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (3,128) New Rochelle, New York |
| Feb 4, 1998 | | at Loyola (MD) | L 82–91 | 19–4 (10–2) | Reitz Arena (2,025) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 6, 1998 | | Niagara | W 86–74 | 20–4 (11–2) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,870) New Rochelle, New York |
| Feb 9, 1998 | | Canisius | W 102–66 | 21–4 (12–2) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,710) New Rochelle, New York |
| Feb 11, 1998 | | at Siena | L 92–104 | 21–5 (12–3) | Pepsi Arena (5,789) Albany, New York |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | at Fairfield | W 78–68 | 22–5 (13–3) | Alumni Hall (2,424) Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Feb 19, 1998 | | Marist | W 80–65 | 23–5 (14–3) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (2,908) New Rochelle, New York |
| Feb 22, 1998 | | Loyola (MD) | W 92–82 | 24–5 (15–3) | John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center (3,142) New Rochelle, New York |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1998* | (1) | vs. (8) Marist Quarterfinals | W 76–55 | 25–5 | Pepsi Arena (3,611) Albany, New York |
| Mar 1, 1998* | (1) | vs. (5) Loyola (MD) Semifinals | W 69–58 | 26–5 | Pepsi Arena (3,142) Albany, New York |
| Mar 2, 1998* | (1) | at (3) Siena Championship game | W 90–75 | 27–5 | Pepsi Arena (10,667) Albany, New York |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1998* | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 21 Syracuse First round | L 61–63 | 27–6 | Rupp Arena (15,622) Lexington, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Kashif Hameed – MAAC Player of the Year