# 1997–98 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Barry Collier, serving in his 9th season at the school. The Bulldogs played their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. Butler finished third in the MCC regular season standings and won the MCC tournament to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the school's second of three NCAA Tournament appearance in a four period under Collier. As No. 13 seed in the Southeast region, the Bulldogs were beaten by No. 4 seed New Mexico, 79–62 to finish the season with a record of 22–11 (8–6 MCC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 19, 1997* | | Indiana Wesleyan | W 87–44 | 1–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,406) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nov 20, 1997* | | Bradley | W 51–48 | 2–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,132) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nov 22, 1997* | | at Ball State | L 46–58 | 2–1 | Worthen Arena (6,220) Muncie, Indiana |
| Nov 28, 1997* | | vs. No. 18 Oklahoma | W 73–63 | 3–1 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (2,250) Hilo, Hawaii |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | vs. Pacific | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (1,500) Hilo, Hawaii |
| Nov 30, 1997* | | vs. No. 15 Stanford | L 86–99 | 4–2 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (1,500) Hilo, Hawaii |
| Dec 3, 1997* | | at Western Kentucky | L 49–59 | 4–3 | E.A. Diddle Arena (4,600) Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | Indiana State | W 65–63 | 5–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,791) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 10, 1997* | | IUPUI | W 83–44 | 6–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,225) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | Evansville | W 63–46 | 7–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,265) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 23, 1997* | | James Madison | W 75–66 | 8–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,773) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 27, 1997* | | Belmont | W 85–54 | 9–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,373) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 30, 1997* | | at No. 13 Xavier | L 66–93 | 9–4 | Cincinnati Gardens (10,100) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | Illinois-Chicago | W 78–76 | 10–4 (1–0) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,531) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 7, 1998 | | Loyola-Chicago | W 59–56 $^{OT}$ | 11–4 (2–0) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,113) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 9, 1998* | | at Southwest Missouri State | W 66–63 | 12–4 | Hammons Student Center (6,551) Springfield, Missouri |
| Jan 12, 1998 | | Wright State | W 81–6 | 13–4 (3–0) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,211) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | at Cleveland State | L 62–67 | 13–5 (3–1) | Henry J. Goodman Arena (2,614) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | at Detroit | L 67–78 | 13–6 (3–2) | Calihan Hall (4,076) Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 22, 1998 | | Wisconsin-Green Bay | W 78–60 | 14–6 (4–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,153) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | UW-Milwaukee | W 74–66 | 15–6 (5–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,233) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | at Illinois-Chicago | L 62–72 | 15–7 (5–3) | UIC Pavilion (4,748) Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | at Loyola-Chicago | L 62–70 $^{OT}$ | 15–8 (5–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,221) Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at Wright State | L 53–57 | 15–9 (5–5) | Ervin J. Nutter Center (5,949) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Feb 17, 1998 | | at UW-Milwaukee | W 71–56 | 16–9 (6–5) | Wisconsin Center Arena (557) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 12, 1998 | | Detroit | L 51–54 | 16–10 (6–6) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,213) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | Cleveland State | W 58–44 | 17–10 (7–6) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,632) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 19, 1998* | | at Nevada | W 84–75 | 18–10 | Lawlor Events Center (5,986) Reno, Nevada |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | at Wisconsin-Green Bay | W 59–57 | 19–10 (8–6) | Brown County Arena (4,017) Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| MCC tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1998* | | vs. Loyola (IL) Quarterfinals | W 62–53 | 20–10 | Brown County Arena (2,304) Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Mar 1, 1998* | | vs. Wright State Semifinals | W 67–48 | 21–10 | Brown County Arena (5,112) Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Mar 3, 1998* | | at Green Bay Championship game | W 70–51 | 22–10 | Brown County Arena (5,368) Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1998* | (13 SE) | vs. (4 SE) No. 18 New Mexico First round | L 62–79 | 22–11 | Rupp Arena (15,622) Lexington, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||