1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 100th basketball season. The head coach was Roy Williams, who served his 10th year at KU. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They are known for having the distinction of playing an unprecedented 34 regular season games.

1997–98 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Preseason NIT champions Big 12 Regular Season champions Big 12 Tournament champions
NCAA men's Division I tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 2
Record	35–4 (15–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Roy Williams (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Matt Doherty (5th season) Neil Dougherty (3rd season) Joe Holladay (4th season)
Captains	Raef LaFrentz C.B. McGrath Billy Thomas
Home arena	Allen Fieldhouse
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Kansas †	15	–	1		.938			35	–	4		.897
Oklahoma State	11	–	5		.688			22	–	7		.759
Oklahoma	11	–	5		.688			22	–	11		.667
Nebraska	10	–	6		.625			20	–	12		.625
Baylor	8	–	8		.500			14	–	14		.500
Missouri	8	–	8		.500			17	–	15		.531
Texas Tech	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Kansas State	7	–	9		.438			17	–	12		.586
Colorado	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Texas	6	–	10		.375			14	–	17		.452
Iowa State	5	–	11		.313			12	–	18		.400
Texas A&M	1	–	15		.063			7	–	20		.259
† 1998 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll [1]

Roster

Name	#	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Home Town
Nick Bradford	21	Forward	6-6	175	Sophomore	Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jeff Carey	22	Forward/Center	6–10	230	Freshman (RS)	Camdenton, Missouri
Eric Chenowith	44	Center	7–0	235	Freshman	Orange, California
Lester Earl	3	Forward/Center	6-8	235	Sophomore	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Kenny Gregory	20	Guard	6–5	215	Freshman	Columbus, Ohio
Jelani Janisse	23	Guard	6–3	200	Junior	Los Angeles, California
Raef LaFrentz	45	Forward	6–11	235	Senior	Hampton, Iowa
Chris Martin	30	Guard	6–2	190	Junior	Overland Park, Kansas
C.B. McGrath	24	Guard	5-11	173	Senior	Topeka, Kansas
Terry Nooner	5	Guard	6–0	170	Sophomore	Raytown, Missouri
Paul Pierce	34	Forward	6–7	220	Junior	Inglewood, California
T.J. Pugh	32	Forward/Center	6–8	246	Junior	Omaha, Nebraska
Ryan Robertson	4	Guard	6–5	182	Junior	Saint Charles, Missouri
Billy Thomas	12	Guard	6–4	208	Senior	Shreveport, Louisiana

Big 12 Conference standings

#	Team	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
1	Kansas	15-1	.938	35-4	.897
2	Oklahoma State	11-5	.688	22-7	.759
3	Oklahoma	11-5	.688	22-11	.667
4	Nebraska	10-6	.625	20-12	.625
5	Baylor	8-8	.500	14-14	.500
6	Missouri	8-8	.500	17-15	.531
7	Texas Tech	7–9	.438	13-14	.481
8	Kansas State	7-9	.438	17-12	.586
9	Colorado	7-9	.438	13-14	.481
10	Texas	6-10	.375	14-17	.452
11	Iowa State	5-11	.313	12-18	.400
12	Texas A&M	1-15	.063	7-20	.529

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Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
11/14/1997*	No. 2	Santa Clara	W 99-73	1–0	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
11/17/1997*	No. 2	Rice	W 88-61	2–0	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
11/18/1997*	No. 2	Western Kentucky Preseason NIT first round	W 75-62	3–0	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
11/21/1997*	No. 2	UNLV Preseason NIT Second round	W 92-68	4–0	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
11/26/1997*	No. 2	vs. Arizona State Preseason NIT Semifinals	W 90-88 OT	5-0	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
11/28/1997*	No. 2	vs. Florida State Preseason NIT Championship Game	W 73-58	6-0	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
12/02/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 4 Arizona Great Eight	W 90-87	7-0	United Center  Chicago, IL
12/04/1997*	No. 2	Emporia State	W 102-50	8-0	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawnrence, KS
12/07/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 23 Maryland BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament first round	L 83-86	8-1	Verizon Center  Washington, DC
12/08/1997*	No. 2	vs. Penn BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament Third-place game	W 89-71	9-1	Verizon Center  Washington, DC
12/10/1997*	No. 3	UMass	W 73-71	10-1	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
12/13/1997*	No. 3	Middle Tennessee State	W 103-68	11-1	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
12/18/1997*	No. 2	Pepperdine	W 96-83	12-1	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
12/20/1997*	No. 2	vs. No. 24 TCU Sprint Shootout	W 94-78	13-1	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
12/23/1997*	No. 2	at USC	W 74-69	14-1	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
12/28/1997*	No. 2	vs. Ohio State Rainbow Classic First round	W 69-56	15-1	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
12/29/1997*	No. 2	vs. Vanderbilt Rainbow Classic Semifinals	W 89-82	16-1	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
12/30/1997*	No. 2	vs. Hawaii Rainbow Classic Championship Game	L 65-76	16-2	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
1/3/1998	No. 2	Nebraska	W 97-76	17-2 (1–0)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
1/7/1998	No. 4	Colorado	W 111-62	18-2 (2–0)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
1/10/1998	No. 4	at Texas	W 102-72	19-2 (3–0)	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, TX
1/14/1998	No. 3	at Texas A&M	W 83-65	20-2 (4–0)	Reed Arena  College Station, TX
1/17/1998	No. 3	Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 69-62	21-2 (5–0)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
1/19/1998	No. 3	at Missouri Border War	L 73-74	21-3 (5–1)	Hearnes Center  Columbia, MO
1/24/1998	No. 3	Texas Tech	W 88-49	22-3 (6–1)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
1/28/1998	No. 5	Baylor	W 94-47	23-3 (7–1)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
2/1/1998	No. 5	at Nebraska	W 82-71	24-3 (8–1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, NE
2/4/1998	No. 3	at Iowa State	W 83-62	25-3 (9–1)	Hilton Coliseum  Ames, IA
2/8/1998	No. 3	Missouri Border War	W 80-70	26-3 (10–1)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
2/14/1998	No. 4	at Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 73-58	27-3 (11–1)	Bramlage Coliseum  Manhattan, KS
2/16/1998	No. 4	at Colorado	W 81-72	28-3 (12–1)	Coors Events Center  Boulder, CO
2/21/1998	No. 4	Iowa State	W 71-54	29-3 (13–1)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
2/23/1998	No. 4	Oklahoma	W 83-70	30-3 (14–1)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
3/1/1998	No. 4	at No. 25 Oklahoma State	W 71-67	31-3 (15–1)	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
Big 12 Tournament
3/6/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (8) Kansas State Quarterfinals	W 68–61	32–3	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
3/7/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (4) Nebraska Semifinals	W 91–59	33–3	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
3/8/1998	(1) No. 3	vs. (3) Oklahoma Championship Game	W 72–58	34–3	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
3/13/1998*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (16 MW) Prairie View A&M First round	W 110–52	35–3	Myriad Convention Center  Oklahoma City, OK
3/15/1998*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (8 MW) Rhode Island Second round	L 75–80	35–4	Myriad Convention Center  Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, NCAA tournament seeds shown in parentheses. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

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Rankings

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17
AP	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	4	3	3	5	3	4	4	4	3	2
Coaches

*There was no coaches poll in week 1.

References

1. 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
2. "Big 12 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF) (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 1, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
3. "Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball 1997-98 Season Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (English) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013.