# 1997–98 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball during the 1997–98 season. Richmond competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) under first-year head basketball coach John Beilein and played its home games at the Robins Center.
Richmond finished third in the CAA regular-season standings with a 12–4 conference record, and won the CAA tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Spiders defeated the seventh-ranked, No. 3 seed South Carolina, 62–61, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. Richmond lost in the second round to No. 11 seed Washington, 81–66, to finish with a 23–8 record.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 16, 1997* 7:00 pm | | Virginia NationsBank Virginia Challenge | W 83–79 $^{2OT}$ | 1–0 | Robins Center (8,463) Richmond, Virginia |
| Nov 19, 1997* | | No. 4 North Carolina | L 65–84 | 1–1 | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Nov 24, 1997* | | at Florida Atlantic | W 81–50 | 2–1 | FAU Arena Boca Raton, Florida |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | at Wake Forest | L 67–71 | 2–2 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Dec 5, 1997* | | vs. Samford San Francisco Tournament | W 70–38 | 3–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | at San Francisco San Francisco Tournament | L 60–64 | 3–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | at Campbell | W 71–49 | 4–3 | Carter Gymnasium Buies Creek, North Carolina |
| Dec 29, 1997* | | vs. UNC Asheville Dr. Pepper Classic | W 71–55 | 5–3 | |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | vs. UNC Greensboro Dr. Pepper Classic | W 83–72 | 6–3 | |
| CAA Regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 1998 | | at James Madison | W 87–68 | 7–3 (1–0) | Convocation Center Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| Jan 7, 1998* | | Drexel | W 66–57 | 8–3 | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| CAA Regular season ||||||
| Jan 10, 1998 | | UNC Wilmington | W 61–58 | 9–3 (2–0) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 14, 1998 | | American | W 73–57 | 10–3 (3–0) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | at East Carolina | L 67–77 | 10–4 (3–1) | Minges Coliseum Greenville, North Carolina |
| Jan 19, 1998 | | William & Mary | W 70–59 | 11–4 (4–1) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 21, 1998 | | at Old Dominion | L 57–62 | 11–5 (4–2) | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, Virginia |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | at VCU | W 56–52 | 12–5 (5–2) | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 28, 1998 | | George Mason | W 87–65 | 13–5 (6–2) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | James Madison | W 57–50 | 14–5 (7–2) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Feb 4, 1998 | | East Carolina | W 79–64 | 15–5 (8–2) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at William & Mary | L 70–73 | 15–6 (8–3) | William & Mary Hall Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Feb 9, 1998 | | at UNC Wilmington | L 59–62 | 15–7 (8–4) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Feb 16, 1998 | | at American | W 77–41 | 16–7 (9–4) | Bender Arena Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 18, 1998 | | at George Mason | W 61–56 | 17–7 (10–4) | Patriot Center Fairfax, Virginia |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | VCU | W 67–61 | 18–7 (11–4) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Feb 23, 1998 | | Old Dominion | W 85–77 | 19–7 (12–4) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| CAA Tournament ||||||
| Feb 25, 1998* | (3) | (6) George Mason Quarterfinals | W 66–49 | 20–7 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Feb 28, 1998* | (3) | (7) American Semifinals | W 66–64 | 21–7 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 1, 1998* | (3) | (1) UNC Wilmington Championship Game | W 79–64 | 22–7 | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 14 South Carolina First Round | W 62–61 | 23–7 | MCI Center Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 14, 1998* | (14 E) | vs. (11 E) Washington Second Round | L 66–81 | 23–8 | MCI Center Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Jarod Stevenson – CAA Player of the Year