# 1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs basketball team

The 1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball team represented Texas Christian University as a member of the Southwestern Conference during the 1997–98 men's college basketball season. Led by head coach Billy Tubbs, TCU swept through the WAC regular season schedule to earn the regular season title and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 5 seed in the Midwest region. The Horned Frogs were upset in the opening round by No. 12 seed Florida State, 96–87. The team finished with a record of 27–6 (14–0 WAC).
This high-scoring TCU team posted more than 100 points in seven straight games early in the season (peaking with 153 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley), exceeded the century mark 14 times on the season in all, and scored 99 points twice more.
Junior forward Lee Nailon established school records for scoring in a single game (53; three games after senior Mike Jones became the first TCU player to score 50 in a game) and season single season (796). He was also named co-Player of the Year in the WAC. Jones and fellow senior Malcolm Johnson finished 1–2 on the single season and career steals lists, while senior James Penny ended his career as the school's all-time leader in blocks (all of which have since been surpassed).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 16, 1997* | | SW Missouri State | W 78–67 | 1–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Nov 22, 1997* | | Long Island | W 105–95 | 2–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Nov 25, 1997* | | at Texas Tech | W 107–76 | 3–0 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | Texas-Rio Grande Valley | W 153–87 | 4–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 3, 1997* | | Delaware State | W 138–75 | 5–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | Morgan State | W 133–74 | 6–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 9, 1997* | | North Texas | W 113–74 | 7–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 12, 1997* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 106–83 | 8–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | Baylor | W 99–75 | 9–0 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 20, 1997* | No. 24 | vs. No. 2 Kansas Sprint Shootout | L 78–94 | 9–1 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 24, 1997* | No. 25 | vs. Iowa State Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | W 93–54 | 10–1 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 25, 1997* | No. 25 | vs. No. 19 Syracuse Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | L 78–82 | 10–2 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 26, 1997* | No. 25 | at American-Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | W 105–93 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | Oklahoma State | L 81–82 | 11–3 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 5, 1998* | | at No. 12 New Mexico | L 77–98 | 11–4 | University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Jan 8, 1998 | | Fresno State | W 91–76 | 12–4 (1–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | San Jose State | W 104–65 | 13–4 (2–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | at San Diego State | W 105–61 | 14–4 (3–0) | Viejas Arena San Diego, California |
| Jan 19, 1998 | | at No. 24 Hawaii | W 83–76 | 15–4 (4–0) | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Jan 26, 1998 | | SMU | W 100–82 | 16–4 (5–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | Rice | W 97–67 | 17–4 (6–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 1, 1998 | | Tulsa | W 102–100 $^{OT}$ | 18–4 (7–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | at Fresno State | W 99–91 | 19–4 (8–0) | Selland Arena Fresno, California |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at San Jose State | W 119–84 | 20–4 (9–0) | The Event Center San Jose, California |
| Feb 12, 1998 | No. 22 | Hawaii | W 126–84 | 21–4 (10–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 14, 1998* | No. 22 | San Diego State | W 91–69 | 22–4 (11–0) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 16, 1998 | No. 19 | at SMU | W 79–70 | 23–4 (12–0) | Moody Coliseum Dallas, Texas |
| Feb 21, 1998* | No. 19 | No. 11 New Mexico | W 95–64 | 24–4 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 26, 1998 | No. 15 | at Tulsa | W 57–54 | 25–4 (13–0) | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Feb 28, 1998 | No. 15 | at Rice | W 86–73 | 26–4 (14–0) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| WAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1998* | No. 13 | vs. SMU Quarterfinals | W 71–69 | 27–4 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Mar 6, 1998* | No. 13 | vs. No. 20 New Mexico Semifinals | L 73–80 | 27–5 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1998* | (5 MW) No. 15 | vs. (12 MW) Florida State First Round | L 87–96 | 27–6 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||