Despite a game effort from Tech freshman Andy Ellis, who finished with 30 points, the Hoosiers held off Tech in front of a sold-out crowd. All-Star Tour, 1998. Dickey, at age 37, is named 12th head coach in the history of the Red Raider men's basketball program. The Raiders stun the SWC with three wins at the postseason tournament to nab the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1986. Dickey was the quickest coach to win a league title in the history of the program.
Tech loses in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.
Ham's thunderous slam appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week. The Raiders win their first Big 12 Tournament game before falling to 16th-ranked Iowa State. Immediately after that game, Tech officials announce that the team had played with two academically ineligible players during the season. The university administration announces that it will forfeit all league victories and withdraw from consideration for the NCAA Tournament. Battie announces he will leave school early for the NBA draft, leaving Tech without its All-Big 12 center the following season.