# 1997–98 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball team represented Northern Arizona University in the 1997-98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by head coach Ben Howland, and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome as members of the Big Sky Conference. After finishing atop the conference regular season standings, Northern Arizona won the Big Sky tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in school history. As No. 15 seed in the West region, the Lumberjacks lost to No. 2 seed Cincinnati in the opening round, 65–62.

## Roster

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## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 15, 1997* | | Sonoma State | W 89–67 | 1–0 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Nov 19, 1997* | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 70–72 | 1–1 | William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Nov 22, 1997* 6:30 pm | | at Texas-Pan American | W 62–57 | 2–1 | UTPA Fieldhouse Edinburg, Texas |
| Nov 25, 1997* | | San Diego | L 68–73 | 2–2 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Dec 3, 1997* | | at Arizona State | L 76–87 | 2–3 | Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, Arizona |
| Dec 6, 1997* 7:05 pm | | Texas-Pan American | W 105–56 | 3–3 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | Western Oregon | W 91–63 | 4–3 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Dec 18, 1997* | | at No. 11 UCLA | L 68–90 | 4–4 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 21, 1997* | | UC Irvine | W 88–56 | 5–4 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | at San Jose State | W 77–64 | 6–4 | Event Center Arena San Jose, California |
| Big Sky regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 1998 | | at Eastern Washington | W 83–48 | 7–4 (1–0) | Reese Court Cheney, Washington |
| Jan 5, 1998 | | at Portland State | L 70–72 | 7–5 (1–1) | Viking Pavilion Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 9, 1998 | | Montana | W 73–60 | 8–5 (2–1) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | Montana State | W 76–72 | 9–5 (3–1) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Jan 14, 1998 | | at Idaho State | W 87–60 | 10–5 (4–1) | Holt Arena Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jan 16, 1998 | | at Weber State | L 75–83 | 10–6 (4–2) | Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | Idaho State | W 87–61 | 11–6 (5–2) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | Cal State Northridge | W 86–85 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (6–2) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | at Montana State | W 102–96 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (7–2) | Worthington Arena Bozeman, Montana |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at Montana | L 66–73 | 13–7 (7–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Feb 12, 1998 | | Portland State | W 87–54 | 14–7 (8–3) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | Eastern Washington | W 94–79 | 15–7 (9–3) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 19, 1998 | | Sacramento State | W 86–49 | 16–7 (10–3) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | Weber State | W 79–70 $^{OT}$ | 17–7 (11–3) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 25, 1998 | | at Cal State Northridge | W 64–61 | 18–7 (12–3) | The Matadome Northridge, California |
| Feb 27, 1998 | | at Sacramento State | W 92–52 | 19–7 (13–3) | Hornets Nest Sacramento, California |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1998* | (1) | (6) Cal State Northridge Semifinals | W 86–79 | 20–7 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Mar 7, 1998* | (1) | (4) Montana State Championship game | W 77–50 | 21–7 | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (15 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 9 Cincinnati First round | L 62–65 | 21–8 | BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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