# 1997–98 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Tubby Smith. He was in his first season as head coach after taking over from Rick Pitino. The team finished the season with a 29–4 record and won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship over the Utah Utes, 78–69.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Nazr Mohammed | Jamaal Magloire | Michael Bradley | |
| PF | Scott Padgett | | | |
| SF | Allen Edwards | Heshimu Evans | Myron Anthony | |
| SG | Jeff Sheppard | Cameron Mills | Ryan Hogan | Steve Masiello |
| PG | Wayne Turner | Saul Smith | | |

## Schedule
### November

The Tubby Smith-era officially began on November 18 with an 88 to 49 victory over Morehead State at Rupp Arena. Allen Edwards added 15 points, Wayne Turner had 12 points and Heshimu Evans had 10 points. Four days later Kentucky traveled to island of Maui to compete in the annual Maui Invitational Tournament, Kentucky defeated George Washington 70 to 55 in the first round of the tournament. The victory over the Colonials set up a game the next night in the semifinals against No. 1 Arizona, a rematch of the 1997 NCAA tournament championship Game. Kentucky experienced its first loss of the season with a 74 to 89 set back. After the loss the Wildcats rebounded the next night in the 3rd-place game against Missouri with a 77 to 55 victory. After Kentucky left Maui they traveled to Phoenix three days later to defeat No. 13 Clemson 76 to 61. Kentucky finished November ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and with a 4–1 record.

### December

On December 3 Kentucky defeated No. 6 Purdue 89 to 75 in the annual Great Eight Classic in Chicago. Nazr Mohammed carried Kentucky with 19 points on 8-10 field goal shooting. Three days later Kentucky traveled to Indianapolis to defeat rival Indiana 75 to 72. Nazr Mohammed and Jeff Sheppard led the way with 21 points a piece. Four days later Kentucky traveled to Buffalo to defeat Canisius 81 to 54. On December 13 the Wildcats played its first home game in 23 days against No. 24 Georgia Tech. They defeated the Yellow Jackets 85 to 71 behind 14 points and 10 rebounds by Heshimu Evans. One week later Kentucky defeated Tubby Smith's former school Tulsa 74 to 53. Three nights later Kentucky defeated American 75 to 52. Four days later Kentucky played in-state rival Louisville in the annual Battle for the Bluegrass. Kentucky was upset by the Cardinals 76 to 79 due in part to the Wildcats shooting 5 for 23 from the 3 point line. Three nights later the Wildcats bounced back on the road in Athens, OH with a 95 to 58 victory over Ohio. Kentucky finished the 1997 calendar year with a 11–2 record and ranked 6th in the AP poll.

### Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 11, 1997* 7:30 pm | No. 9 | Court Authority | W 86–62 | 0–0 | 20 – Edwards | 6 – Tied | 6 – Turner | Rupp Arena (20,041) Lexington, KY |
| November 18, 1997* 8:00 pm, BBSN | No. 9 | Melbourne | W 91–63 | 0–0 | 14 – Edwards | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,102) Lexington, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 20, 1997* 8:00 pm, BBSN | No. 9 | Morehead State | W 88–49 | 1–0 | 15 – Edwards | 8 – Magloire | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (23,097) Lexington, KY |
| November 24, 1997* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | vs. George Washington Maui Invitational Tournament first round | W 70–55 | 2–0 | 16 – Turner | 11 – Evans | 4 – Evans | Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI |
| November 25, 1997* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | vs. No. 1 Arizona Maui Invitational Tournament Semifinals | L 74–89 | 2–1 | 16 – Padgett | 16 – Mohammed | 4 – Tied | Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI |
| November 26, 1997* 7:30 pm | No. 8 | vs. Missouri Maui Invitational Tournament 3rd-place game | W 77–55 | 3–1 | 18 – Magloire | 17 – Magloire | 5 – Sheppard | Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI |
| November 29, 1997* 7:30 pm, SportsChannel | No. 8 | vs. No. 13 Clemson | W 76–61 | 4–1 | 17 – Turner | 6 – Mohammed | 5 – Turner | America West Arena (4,306) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 3, 1997* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | vs. No. 6 Purdue Great Eight Classic | W 89–75 | 5–1 | 19 – Mohammed | 9 – Padgett | 8 – Turner | United Center (19,567) Chicago, IL |
| December 6, 1997* 3:30 pm, CBS | No. 7 | vs. Indiana | W 75–72 | 6–1 | 21 – Tied | 12 – Mohammed | 5 – Turner | RCA Dome (38,504) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 10, 1997* 8:00 pm, BBSN | No. 4 | at Canisius | W 81–54 | 7–1 | 21 – Sheppard | 8 – Turner | 6 – Turner | Marine Midland Arena (10,083) Buffalo, NY |
| December 13, 1997* 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | No. 24 Georgia Tech | W 85–71 | 8–1 | 14 – Evans | 10 – Evans | 6 – Edwards | Rupp Arena (24,112) Lexington, KY |
| December 20, 1997* 7:30 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | Tulsa | W 74–53 | 9–1 | 17 – Mohammed | 8 – Padgett | 5 – Edwards | Rupp Arena (24,082) Lexington, KY |
| December 23, 1997* 8:00 pm, BBSN | No. 4 | American | W 74–53 | 10–1 | 16 – Edwards | 6 – Magloire | 5 – Tied | Rupp Arena (22,856) Lexington, KY |
| December 27, 1997* 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 4 | Louisville | L 76–79 | 10–2 | 18 – Sheppard | 9 – Mohammed | 4 – Padgett | Rupp Arena (24,303) Lexington, KY |
| December 30, 1997* 7:00 pm, BBSN | No. 6 | at Ohio | W 95–58 | 11–2 | 15 – Tied | 7 – Mohammed | 4 – Tied | Convocation Center (13,083) Athens, OH |
| January 3, 1998 6:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 6 | Vanderbilt | W 71–62 | 12–2 (1–0) | 19 – Mohammed | 14 – Padgett | 5 – Edwards | Rupp Arena (24,236) Lexington, KY |
| January 6, 1998 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | at Georgia | W 90–79 | 13–2 (2–0) | 20 – Turner | 7 – Tied | 5 – Turner | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| January 10, 1998 4:30 pm, JP Sports | No. 6 | at Mississippi State | W 77–71 | 14–2 (3–0) | 23 – Padgett | 10 – Padgett | 4 – Turner | Humphrey Coliseum (9,334) Starkville, MS |
| January 13, 1998 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | No. 14 South Carolina | W 91–70 | 15–2 (4–0) | 16 – Sheppard | 8 – Mohammed | 12 – Edwards | Rupp Arena (24,241) Lexington, KY |
| January 17, 1998 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 6 | No. 22 Arkansas | W 80–77 $^{OT}$ | 16–2 (5–0) | 20 – Evans | 13 – Mohammed | 4 – Sheppard | Rupp Arena (24,266) Lexington, KY |
| January 21, 1998 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | Alabama | W 70–67 | 17–2 (6–0) | 24 – Padgett | 10 – Mohammed | 4 – Turner | Freedom Hall (19,734) Louisville, KY |
| January 24, 1998 7:30 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | at Tennessee | W 90–79 | 18–2 (7–0) | 20 – Padgett | 7 – Tied | 11 – Turner | Thompson-Boling Arena (23,146) Knoxville, TN |
| January 27, 1998 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Vanderbilt | W 63–61 | 19–2 (8–0) | 20 – Padgett | 7 – Tied | 11 – Turner | Memorial Gymnasium (15,311) Nashville, TN |
| February 1, 1998 3:30 pm, ABC | No. 7 | Florida | L 78–86 | 19–3 (8–1) | 31 – Mills | 10 – Evans | 4 – Turner | Rupp Arena (24,186) Lexington, KY |
| February 4, 1998 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | at LSU | W 63–61 | 20–3 (9–1) | 12 – Sheppard | 3 – Evans | 4 – Sheppard | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,686) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 8, 1998* 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 8 | at Villanova | W 79–63 | 21–3 (9–1) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Mohammed | 6 – Edwards | CoreStates Center (15,551) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 11, 1998 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | Tennessee | W 80–74 | 22–3 (10–1) | 21 – Mohammed | 16 – Mohammed | 5 – Evans | Rupp Arena (23,861) Lexington, KY |
| February 14, 1998 12:30 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | No. 18 Ole Miss | L 64–73 | 22–4 (10–2) | 15 – Sheppard | 8 – Mohammed | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (23,842) Lexington, KY |
| February 18, 1998 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | at Florida | W 79–54 | 23–4 (11–2) | 19 – Mohammed | 6 – Tied | 5 – Turner | O'Connell Center (10,222) Gainesville, FL |
| February 22, 1998 1:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | Georgia | W 85–74 | 24–4 (12–2) | 16 – Mohammed | 11 – Mohammed | 8 – Sheppard | Rupp Arena (24,272) Lexington, KY |
| February 25, 1998 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | at Auburn | W 83–58 | 25–4 (13–2) | 25 – Sheppard | 7 – Padgett | 5 – Padgett | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (9,644) Auburn, AL |
| February 25, 1998 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 7 | at No. 14 South Carolina | W 89–57 | 26–4 (14–2) | 24 – Sheppard | 12 – Evans | 5 – Turner | Carolina Coliseum (12,129) Columbia, SC |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 1998 1:00 pm, JP Sports | (E1) No. 7 | vs. (W5) Alabama Quarterfinals | W 82–71 | 27–4 | 17 – Sheppard | 13 – Padgett | 8 – Turner | Georgia Dome (21,109) Atlanta, GA |
| March 7, 1998 1:00 pm, JP Sports | (E1) No. 7 | vs. (W2) No. 16 Arkansas Semifinals | W 99–74 | 28–4 | 17 – Sheppard | 10 – Mohammed | 7 – Turner | Georgia Dome (25,190) Atlanta, GA |
| March 8, 1998 12:00 pm, CBS | (E1) No. 7 | vs. (E2) No. 15 South Carolina Championship Game | W 86–56 | 29–4 | 18 – Turner | 7 – Mohammed | 5 – Edwards | Georgia Dome (24,545) Atlanta, GA |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 1998 12:15 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (15 S) South Carolina State First Round | W 82–67 | 30–4 | 18 – Mohammed | 6 – Tied | 6 – Edwards | Georgia Dome (17,474) Atlanta, GA |
| March 15, 1998 2:30 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (10 S) St. Louis Second Round | W 88–61 | 31–4 | 18 – Sheppard | 8 – Mohammed | 9 – Turner | Georgia Dome (19,423) Atlanta, GA |
| March 20, 1998 10:00 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (6 S) No. 19 UCLA Sweet Sixteen | W 94–68 | 32–4 | 19 – Padgett | 6 – Padgett | 5 – Edwards | Tropicana Field (40,589) St. Petersburg, FL |
| March 23, 1998 5:00 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (1 S) No. 3 Duke Elite Eight | W 86–84 | 33–4 | 18 – Sheppard | 11 – Tied | 8 – Turner | Tropicana Field (40,589) St. Petersburg, FL |
| March 28, 1998 5:42 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Stanford Final Four | W 86–85 | 34–4 | 27 – Sheppard | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Alamodome (40,509) San Antonio, TX |
| March 30, 1998 9:17 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 5 | vs. (3 W) No. 7 Utah National Championship | W 78–69 | 35–4 | 17 – Padgett | 6 – Evans | 5 – Edwards | Alamodome (40,509) San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1998 | 1 | 29 | Nazr Mohammed | Utah Jazz |
| 1999 | 1 | 28 | Scott Padgett | Utah Jazz |
| 2000 | 1 | 19 | Jamaal Magloire | Charlotte Hornets |