# 1997–98 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team represented Radford University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by second-year head coach Ron Bradley, played their home games at the Dedmon Center in Radford, Virginia as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 20–10, 10–2 in Big South play to finish in second place. They defeated Charleston Southern, UMBC, and UNC Asheville to become champions of the Big South tournament. The received the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in program history – where they were defeated in the first round by No. 1 seed Duke.

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 14, 1997* | | at Norfolk State | W 100–81 | 1–0 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia |
| Nov 22, 1997* | | Concord | L 86–104 | 1–1 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Nov 24, 1997* | | Elon | W 86–59 | 2–1 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | at Marshall | L 49–67 | 2–2 | Cam Henderson Center Huntington, West Virginia |
| Dec 1, 1997* | | Ohio | W 72–63 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | at Duquesne | L 82–88 | 3–3 | A.J. Palumbo Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 10, 1997* | | at Virginia Tech | L 72–79 | 3–4 | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Dec 22, 1997* | | at Wake Forest | L 53–85 | 3–5 | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | vs. Cal State Stanislaus Gossner Classic | W 80–77 | 4–5 | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah |
| Dec 31, 1997* | | at Utah State Gossner Classic | L 73–80 $^{3OT}$ | 4–6 | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah |
| Jan 5, 1998* | | Tusculum | W 83–72 | 5–6 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Jan 8, 1998 | | at UNC Asheville | L 50–53 | 5–7 (0–1) | Justice Center Asheville, North Carolina |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | UMBC | W 81–78 | 6–7 (1–1) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Jan 17, 1998* | | at Belmont | W 85–76 | 7–7 | Striplin Gym Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1998 | | Winthrop | W 88–54 | 8–7 (2–1) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | at Coastal Carolina | L 55–61 | 8–8 (2–2) | Kimbel Arena Conway, South Carolina |
| Jan 26, 1998 | | at Charleston Southern | W 82–76 | 9–8 (3–2) | CSU Field House North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 29, 1998* | | Belmont | L 56–67 | 9–9 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | Liberty | W 77–59 | 10–9 (4–2) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Feb 2, 1998 | | at UMBC | W 73–68 | 11–9 (5–2) | Retriever Activities Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | UNC Asheville | W 91–87 | 12–9 (6–2) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Feb 9, 1998 | | at Winthrop | W 82–60 | 13–9 (7–2) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, South Carolina |
| Feb 11, 1998* | | East Tennessee State | W 81–65 | 14–9 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | Charleston Southern | W 83–70 | 15–9 (8–2) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Feb 16, 1998 | | Coastal Carolina | W 81–64 | 16–9 (9–2) | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | at Liberty | W 91–82 | 17–9 (10–2) | Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| Feb 25, 1998* | (2) | vs. (7) Charleston Southern Quarterfinals | W 75–68 | 18–9 | Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Feb 27, 1998* | (2) | vs. (3) UMBC Semifinals | W 88–69 | 19–9 | Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Feb 28, 1998* | (2) | vs. (1) UNC Asheville Championship game | W 63–61 | 20–9 | Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1998* | (16 SE) | vs. (1 SE) No. 3 Duke First round | L 63–99 | 20–10 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast Source. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||