# 1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball team that played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, 21–8 overall and 12–4 in the conference, shared a piece of the MAC West Division title and earned an at-large bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
As an 11-seed, WMU upset six-seeded Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual Final Four team Stanford in the second round.

## Preseason

The Broncos were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division and received one first-place vote. They won their two exhibition games, defeating Marathon Oil, 83–66 and the Ohio All-Stars, 93–71.

## Season

WMU defeated Michigan 68–63 in the opening game of the season. Senior guard Saddi Washington scored 33 point on 10–22 shooting and the 12 point underdogs overcame an 11-point deficit with a 26–10 run to end the game.

### Hoosier Classic

Western Michigan participated in the 1997 Hoosier Classic, the 16th-annual holiday tournament held at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Broncos played UNC Charlotte in the first game of the tournament, winning 81–65. In the championship game against Indiana, WMU held a 31–29 lead at the half before losing 70–63. Saddi Washington was named tournament MVP.

### Conference tournament

Western Michigan finished the season tied with Ball State with the best conference record but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker and was given the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. In the first round of the tournament, WMU faced No. 7 seed Miami on their home court in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Miami upset the Broncos 67–63 but the notable event of the game was Miami coach Charlie Coles collapsing midway through the first half. The game was stopped while Coles was transported to a local hospital. Without Coles, the game resumed about two hours later.

### NCAA tournament

Western Michigan received an at-large bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and were seeded No. 11. In the first round, they upset No. 6 Clemson 75–72. Their second round opponent, No. 3 Stanford defeated No. 14 College of Charleston in the first round. Stanford defeated WMU 83–65 to end the Broncos season.

## Roster

The following table lists WMU's roster.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 15, 1997* 7:30 pm, None | | at Michigan | W 68–63 | 1–0 | Crisler Arena (12,237) Ann Arbor, MI |
| November 25, 1997* 7:00 pm | | Indiana State | W 74–58 | 2–0 | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 29, 1997* 5:00 pm | | at Wisconsin–Milwaukee | W 84–47 | 3–0 | Milwaukee Arena  Milwaukee, WI |
| December 3, 1997* 7:00 pm | | Chicago State | W 106–62 | 4–0 | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 6, 1997* 2:00 pm | | at Detroit | L 59–77 | 4–1 | Calihan Hall  Detroit, MI |
| December 10, 1997 7:00 pm | | Ball State | L 76–81 | 4–2 (0–1) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 22, 1997* 7:00 pm | | Wright State | W 88–74 | 5–2 | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 27, 1997* 9:00 pm | | vs. UNC Charlotte Hoosier Classic | W 81–65 | 6–2 | Market Square Arena (15,918) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 28, 1997* 7:00 pm | | vs. Indiana Hoosier Classic | L 63–70 | 6–3 | Market Square Arena (12,501) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 31, 1997 3:00 pm | | at Northern Illinois | W 79–73 | 7–3 (1–1) | Chick Evans Field House  DeKalb, IL |
| January 3, 1998 2:00 pm | | Bowling Green | W 81–75 | 8–3 (2–1) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 5, 1998 7:00 pm | | Miami | W 63–47 | 9–3 (3–1) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 8, 1998 7:00 pm | | at Kent State | L 63–65 | 9–4 (3–2) | Memorial Gym  Kent, OH |
| January 10, 1998 3:00 pm | | at Akron | W 89–83 $^{OT}$ | 10–4 (4–2) | Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH |
| January 17, 1998 2:00 pm | | Central Michigan | W 81–63 | 11–4 (5–2) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 21, 1998 7:00 pm | | Eastern Michigan | W 96–85 | 12–4 (6–2) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 24, 1998 7:00 pm | | at Toledo | W 86–76 | 13–4 (7–2) | Savage Hall  Toledo, OH |
| January 29, 1998 7:00 pm | | Akron | W 77–63 | 14–4 (8–2) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 31, 1998 2:00 pm | | Kent State | W 88–53 | 15–4 (9–2) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 5, 1998 7:00 pm | | at Marshall | L 63–78 | 15–5 (9–3) | Cam Henderson Center  Huntington, WV |
| February 7, 1998 3:00 pm | | at Ohio | W 86–68 | 16–5 (10–3) | Convocation Center  Athens, OH |
| February 14, 1998 7:00 pm | | at Central Michigan | W 87–68 | 17–5 (11–3) | Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 18, 1998 7:00 pm | | Toledo | W 86–76 | 18–5 (12–3) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 21, 1998 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Michigan | W 102–82 | 19–5 (13–3) | Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 23, 1998 7:00 pm | | Northern Illinois | W 80–71 | 20–5 (14–3) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 25, 1998 7:00 pm | | Ball State | W 80–71 | 20–6 (14–4) | University Arena  Muncie, IN |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| February 28, 1998* 2:00 pm | (2) | vs. (7) Miami MAC Tournament Quarterfinals | L 72–75 | 20–7 | University Arena (4,293) Kalamazoo, MI |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 13, 1998* 12:00 pm, CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) Clemson NCAA First Round | W 75–72 | 21–7 | United Center  Chicago, IL |
| March 15, 1998* 2:00 pm, CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Stanford NCAA Second Round | L 65–83 | 21–8 | United Center  Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||