# 1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Jerry Green, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. After finishing third in the SEC East regular season standings with a 9–7 conference record, they were invited to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the West region where they lost in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 14, 1997* | | Winthrop | W 75–62 | 1–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Nov 17, 1997* | | Miami (OH) | W 75–74 | 2–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Nov 19, 1997* | | UNC Asheville | W 75–69 | 3–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Nov 23, 1997* | | Austin Peay | W 74–65 | 4–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Nov 28, 1997* | | Appalachian State | W 69–46 | 5–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 2, 1997* | | Tennessee Tech | W 83–69 | 6–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 7, 1997* | | Wofford | W 92–63 | 7–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 9, 1997* | | Saint Joseph's | W 74–54 | 8–0 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | at Memphis | W 68–66 | 9–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | at USC | W 74–70 | 10–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | at Florida | L 69–83 | 10–1 (0–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 7, 1998 | | Auburn | L 69–74 | 10–2 (0–2) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | at Vanderbilt | L 79–80 | 10–3 (0–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | No. 11 Ole Miss | W 77–67 | 11–3 (1–3) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1998 8:00 pm, JPS | | at No. 14 South Carolina | L 51–81 | 11–4 (1–4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | No. 7 Kentucky | L 67–85 | 11–5 (1–5) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 28, 1998 | | at Alabama | W 84–70 | 12–5 (2–5) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | at LSU | W 72–65 | 13–5 (3–5) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 4, 1998 | | Georgia | W 77–48 | 14–5 (4–5) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 7, 1998 2:00 pm, JPS | | No. 13 South Carolina | W 70–69 | 15–5 (5–5) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 11, 1998 8:00 pm, JPS | | at No. 7 Kentucky | L 74–80 | 15–6 (5–6) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 14, 1998 12:30 pm, JPS | | No. 12 Arkansas | W 74–71 | 16–6 (6–6) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 17, 1998 | | at Mississippi State | W 87–63 | 17–6 (7–6) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | Vanderbilt | W 90–76 | 18–6 (8–6) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 25, 1998 | | Florida | W 79–75 | 19–6 (9–6) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 28, 1998 4:00 pm, JPS | | at Georgia | L 72–77 | 19–7 (9–7) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1998* JPS | | vs. LSU First Round | W 73–62 | 20–7 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 5, 1998* JPS | | vs. Arkansas Quarterfinals | L 96–102 | 20–8 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* CBS | (8 W) | vs. (9 W) Illinois State First Round | L 81–82 $^{OT}$ | 20–9 | ARCO Arena (15,284) Sacramento, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
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