# 1998–99 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1998–99 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1998–99 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Cliff Ellis, who was in his fifth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 29–4, 14–2 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They defeated Alabama to advance to the semifinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Winthrop and Oklahoma State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Ohio State.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 1997–98 season 16–14, 7–9 in SEC play. They lost to Florida in the first round of the SEC tournament. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Southern Miss to advance to the second round where they lost to Marquette.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 13, 1998* | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 114–60 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| November 16, 1998* | | Florida A&M | W 94–47 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| November 19, 1998* | | UCF | W 77–42 | 3–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| November 23, 1998* | | BYU | W 62–43 | 4–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| November 27, 1998* | | vs. Rutgers United Airlines Tip-off Classic | W 70–55 | 5–0 | – | – | – | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| November 29, 1998* KFVE-TV | | at Hawaii United Airlines Tip-off Classic | W 84–57 | 6–0 | – | – | – | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 3, 1998* | | UNC Asheville | W 91–60 | 7–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| December 6, 1998* FSS | | at Florida State | W 80–68 | 8–0 | – | – | – | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL |
| December 12, 1998* | | vs. UAB Arby's Hardwood Classic Rivalry | W 77–64 | 9–0 | – | – | – | BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, AL |
| December 15, 1998* CSS | No. 19 | Wofford | W 79–51 | 10–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| December 19, 1998* Foxnet | No. 19 | at Navy | W 88–70 | 11–0 | – | – | – | Alumni Hall Annapolis, MD |
| December 29, 1998* CSS | No. 17 | Bethune–Cookman | W 99–46 | 12–0 | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 2, 1999 CSS | No. 17 | Tennessee | W 90–62 | 13–0 (1–0) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 6, 1999 JP | No. 14 | No. 19 Arkansas | W 83–66 | 14–0 (2–0) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 9, 1999 | No. 14 | at LSU | W 73–70 | 15–0 (3–0) | – | – | – | Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 13, 1999 | No. 8 | at Ole Miss | W 74–59 | 16–0 (4–0) | – | – | – | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 16, 1999 CBS | No. 8 | Florida | W 88–69 | 17–0 (5–0) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 20, 1999 JP | No. 6 | at No. 7 Kentucky | L 62–72 | 17–1 (5–1) | – | – | – | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 23, 1999 CSS | No. 6 | at Alabama Rivalry | W 73–58 | 18–1 (6–1) | – | – | – | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 27, 1999 CSS | No. 7 | Mississippi State | W 64–54 | 19–1 (7–1) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 30, 1999 JP | No. 7 | at Georgia | W 85–74 | 20–1 (8–1) | – | – | – | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| February 3, 1999 | No. 6 | at South Carolina | W 76–48 | 21–1 (9–1) | – | – | – | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 6, 1999 FSS | No. 6 | LSU | W 80–54 | 22–1 (10–1) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| February 9, 1999 ESPN | No. 3 | Ole Miss | W 95–66 | 23–1 (11–1) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| February 13, 1999 CSS | No. 3 | Alabama Rivalry | W 102–61 | 24–1 (12–1) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| February 17, 1999 | No. 3 | Vanderbilt | W 81–63 | 25–1 (13–1) | – | – | – | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| February 24, 1999 JP | No. 2 | at Arkansas | L 88–104 | 25–2 (13–2) | – | – | – | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| February 27, 1999 | No. 2 | at Mississippi State | W 76–73 | 26–2 (14–2) | – | – | – | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 1999 JP | (W1) No. 4 | vs. (W5) Alabama Quarterfinals | W 93–61 | 27–2 | – | – | – | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| March 6, 1999 JP | (W1) No. 4 | vs. (E2) No. 14 Kentucky Semifinals | L 57–69 | 27–3 | – | – | – | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 1999* CBS | (1) No. 4 | vs. (16) Winthrop First Round | W 80–41 | 28–3 | 14 – Tied | 10 – N'diaye | 4 – Tied | RCA Dome (27,184) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 13, 1999* CBS | (1) No. 4 | vs. (9) Oklahoma State Second Round | W 81–74 | 29–3 | 28 – Pohlman | 10 – Porter | 3 – Robinson | RCA Dome (30,318) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 18, 1999* CBS | (1) No. 4 | vs. (4) No. 14 Ohio State Sweet Sixteen | L 64–72 | 29–4 | 15 – Porter | 11 – Tied | 6 – Robinson | Thompson–Boling Arena (23,898) Knoxville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —* | — | — | 24 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.

## Awards and honors

* Chris Porter – SEC Men's Player of the Year