# 1997–98 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. The Wildcats finished the season in first place in the Pacific-10 conference with a 17–1 record. Arizona reached the Elite Eight in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to Utah 51-76 and finishing the season with a 30-5 record.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 20, 1997* | No. 1 | Morgan State | W 115-53 | 1–0 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Nov. 24, 1997* | No. 1 | vs. Boston College Maui Invitational quarterfinal | W 99-69 | 2–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Nov. 25, 1997* | No. 1 | vs. No. 8 Kentucky Maui Invitational semifinal | W 89-74 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Nov. 26, 1997* | No. 1 | vs. No. 3 Duke Maui Invitational Championship | L 87-95 | 3-1 | Lahaina Civic Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Nov. 29, 1997* | No. 1 | UNC Asheville | W 97-69 | 4-1 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 2, 1997* | No. 4 | vs. No. 2 Kansas Great Eight Basketball Classic | L 87-90 | 4-2 | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec. 6, 1997* | No. 4 | at Texas | W 88-81 | 5-2 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec. 8, 1997* | No. 4 | at Baylor | W 83-68 | 6-2 | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| Dec. 13, 1997* | No. 6 | Coppin State | W 99-82 | 7-2 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 23, 1997* | No. 5 | at No. 17 Florida State | L 79-84 | 7-3 | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec. 28, 1997* | No. 5 | James Madison | W 92-68 | 8-3 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 29, 1997* | No. 5 | Kansas State | W 125-87 | 9-3 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 3, 1998 | No. 8 | No. 9 UCLA Rivalry | W 87-75 | 10-3 (1-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 5, 1998 | No. 5 | Southern California | W 91-72 | 11-3 (2-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 8, 1998 | No. 5 | at Washington State | W 94-81 | 12-3 (3-0) | Spokane Arena Spokane, Washington |
| Jan. 10, 1998 | No. 5 | at Washington | W 110-91 | 13-3 (4-0) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington |
| Jan. 15, 1998 | No. 5 | Arizona State Rivalry | W 127-99 | 14-3 (5-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 18, 1998* | No. 5 | No. 15 New Mexico | W 89-70 | 15-3 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 22, 1998 | No. 6 | Oregon | W 87-57 | 16-3 (6-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 25, 1998 | No. 6 | Oregon State | W 93-80 | 17-3 (7-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 29, 1998* | No. 6 | at No. 4 Stanford | W 93-75 | 18-3 (8-0) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan. 31, 1998 | No. 6 | at California | W 70-57 | 19-3 (9-0) | The Arena in Oakland Oakland, California |
| Feb. 5, 1998 | No. 4 | Washington | W 112-81 | 20-3 (10-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 7, 1998 | No. 4 | Washington State | W 83-61 | 21-3 (11-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 14, 1998 | No. 3 | at Arizona State Rivalry | W 83-82 | 22-3 (12-0) | Wells Fargo Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Feb. 19, 1998 | No. 3 | at Oregon State | W 71-70 | 23-3 (13-0) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Feb. 21, 1998 | No. 3 | at Oregon | W 81-66 | 24-3 (14-0) | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Feb. 26, 1998 | No. 2 | California | W 76-73 | 25–3 (15-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 28, 1998 | No. 2 | Stanford | W 90-58 | 26-3 (16-0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar. 5, 1998 | No. 2 | at Southern California | L 90-91 $^{OT}$ | 26–4 (16-1) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Mar. 7, 1998 | No. 2 | at No. 19 UCLA Rivalry | W 91-87 | 27-4 (17-1) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar. 12, 1998* | (1 W) No. 4 | vs. (16 W) Nicholls State First Round | W 99-60 | 28–4 | ARCO Arena Sacramento, California |
| Mar. 14, 1998* | (1 W) No. 4 | vs. (9 W) Illinois State Second Round | W 66-59 | 29–4 | ARCO Arena (16,402) Sacramento, California |
| Mar. 19, 1998* | (1 W) No. 4 | vs. (4 W) No. 20 Maryland Sweet Sixteen | W 87-79 | 30–4 | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Anaheim, California |
| Mar. 21, 1998* | (1 W) No. 4 | vs. (3 W) No. 6 Utah Elite Eight | L 51-76 | 30-5 | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Anaheim, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||

### NCAA Division I tournament

* West
** Arizona (#1 seed) 99, Nicholls State 60
** Arizona 82, Illinois State 49
** Arizona 87, Maryland 79
** Utah 76, Arizona 51

## 1998 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1 | 2 | Mike Bibby | Vancouver Grizzlies |
| 1 | 14 | Michael Dickerson | Houston Rockets |
| 2 | 42 | Miles Simon | Orlando Magic |