# 1997–98 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1997–98 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The team was coached by Bill Bayno and played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV's main campus in Paradise, Nevada as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Runnin' Rebels finished the season 20–13, 7–7 in WAC play. They won the 1998 WAC men's basketball tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a No. 12 seed in the East Region. The Runnin' Rebels lost to No. 5 seed Princeton in the opening round. This was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the program since back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1990 and 1991.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 15, 1997* | | Loyola Marymount | W 96–81 | 1–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (15,115) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Nov 17, 1997* | | Eastern Michigan | W 84–66 | 2–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (4,692) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Nov 21, 1997* | | at No. 2 Kansas Preseason NIT second round | L 68–92 | 2–1 | Allen Fieldhouse (15,701) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Dec 2, 1997* | | at USC | W 82–72 | 3–1 | L.A. Sports Arena (2,949) Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | at Michigan | L 59–83 | 3–2 | Crisler Arena (12,333) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | at Rhode Island | L 73–91 | 3–3 | Keaney Gymnasium (6,429) Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 17, 1997* | | Chicago State | W 86–49 | 4–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (14,141) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | No. 25 Syracuse | L 64–71 | 4–4 | Thomas & Mack Center (13,146) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 23, 1997* | | UC Irvine | W 77–55 | 5–4 | Thomas & Mack Center (12,913) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 27, 1997* | | No. 9 UCLA | L 57–65 | 5–5 | Thomas & Mack Center (17,490) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | Nevada | W 62–50 | 6–5 | Thomas & Mack Center (14,097) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 4, 1998* | | at Tulane | W 77–61 | 7–5 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena (3,395) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| WAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 10, 1998 | | Air Force | W 88–77 | 8–5 (1–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,032) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | at No. 15 New Mexico | L 61–79 | 8–6 (1–1) | University Arena (17,817) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | at UTEP | L 50–62 | 8–7 (1–2) | Don Haskins Center (9,171) El Paso, Texas |
| Jan 22, 1998 | | BYU | W 76–63 | 9–7 (2–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (13,461) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | No. 4 Utah | L 54–67 | 9–8 (2–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,488) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 26, 1998* | | Chaminade | W 77–49 | 10–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (13,144) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | at Colorado State | L 57–60 | 10–9 (2–4) | Moby Arena (7,172) Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | at Wyoming | L 62–73 | 10–10 (2–5) | Arena-Auditorium (9,079) Laramie, Wyoming |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | at Air Force | W 59–57 | 11–10 (3–5) | Clune Arena (1,017) Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Feb 7, 1998* | | Wofford | W 79–52 | 12–10 | Thomas & Mack Center (13,548) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | UTEP | W 69–63 | 13–10 (4–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (13,450) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 16, 1998 | | No. 11 New Mexico | L 66–75 | 13–11 (4–6) | Thomas & Mack Center (14,130) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | at BYU | W 84–76 | 14–11 (5–6) | Marriott Center (9,404) Provo, Utah |
| Feb 23, 1998 | | at No. 5 Utah | L 68–79 | 14–12 (5–7) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,291) Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 26, 1998 | | Wyoming | W 72–66 | 15–12 (6–7) | Thomas & Mack Center (13,612) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 28, 1998 | | Colorado State | W 78–66 | 16–12 (7–7) | Thomas & Mack Center (14,868) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| WAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 1998* | | Hawaii First round | W 64–59 | 17–12 | Thomas & Mack Center (13,878) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Mar 5, 1998* | | No. 5 Utah Quarterfinals | W 54–51 | 18–12 | Thomas & Mack Center (14,340) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Mar 6, 1998* | | Fresno State Semifinals | W 76–67 | 19–12 | Thomas & Mack Center (17,904) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Mar 7, 1998* | | No. 20 New Mexico Championship game | W 56–51 | 20–12 | Thomas & Mack Center (16,101) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (12 E) | vs. (5 E) No. 8 Princeton First round | L 57–69 | 20–13 | Hartford Civic Center (16,105) Hartford, Connecticut |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll/Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||