1997–98 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 1997–98 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University as a member of the Big East Conference during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 22nd year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 26–9 (12–6) record, while making it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

1997–98 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 21
Record	26–9 (12–6 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim (22nd season)
Assistant coaches	Bernie Fine (22nd season) Mike Hopkins (3rd season)
Home arena	Carrier Dome
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Big East 6
No. 6 Connecticut†	15	–	3		.833			32	–	5		.865
St. John's	13	–	5		.722			22	–	10		.688
West Virginia	11	–	7		.611			24	–	9		.727
Villanova	8	–	10		.444			12	–	17		.414
Notre Dame	7	–	11		.389			13	–	14		.481
Boston College	6	–	12		.333			15	–	16		.484
Big East 7
No. 21 Syracuse	12	–	6		.667			26	–	9		.743
Miami	11	–	7		.611			18	–	10		.643
Seton Hall	9	–	9		.500			15	–	15		.500
Providence	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Pittsburgh	6	–	12		.333			11	–	16		.407
Rutgers	6	–	12		.333			14	–	15		.483
Georgetown	6	–	12		.333			16	–	15		.516
† 1998 Big East tournament winner As of March 30, 1998[1][2][3] Rankings from AP poll

The team was led by senior Todd Burgan and sophomores Ryan Blackwell, Etan Thomas and Jason Hart.

Roster

1997–98 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 5 Jason Hart 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Westchester, California F 25 Damone Brown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Buffalo, New York G/F 30 Todd Burgan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Detroit, Michigan F 32 Ryan Blackwell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Pittsford, New York C 33 Etan Thomas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Tulsa, Oklahoma	Head coach Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) Assistant coach(es) Bernie Fine (Syracuse) Mike Hopkins (Syracuse) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 15, 1997*		UNC Asheville	W 60–57	1–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Nov 22, 1997*		UNC Greensboro	W 83–53	2–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Nov 30, 1997*		Colgate	W 78–74	3–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Dec 3, 1997		at St. John's	W 80–73	4–0 (1–0)	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 6, 1997		at Boston College	W 70–52	5–0 (2–0)	Silvio O. Conte Forum  Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 12, 1997*		Texas Southern	W 85–73	6–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Dec 13, 1997*		Miami (OH)	W 72–53	7–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Dec 18, 1997*	No. 25	Buffalo	W 82–70	8–0	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Dec 20, 1997*	No. 25	at UNLV	W 71–64	9–0	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 24, 1997*	No. 19	vs. Saint Louis Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 67–64	10–0	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 25, 1997*	No. 19	vs. No. 25 TCU Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 82–78	11–0	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 26, 1997*	No. 19	vs. Michigan Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	L 61–93	11–1	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Jan 4, 1998	No. 19	Rutgers	W 71–68	12–1 (3–0)	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Jan 7, 1998	No. 18	at Providence	W 77–59	13–1 (4–0)	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 10, 1998*	No. 18	Louisville	W 69–65	14–1	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Jan 13, 1998	No. 16	Providence	L 64–76	14–2 (4–1)	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Jan 18, 1998	No. 16	Miami (FL)	W 85–67	15–2 (5–1)	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Big East Tournament
Mar 5, 1998*	No. 22	vs. Villanova Quarterfinals	W 69–66	23–7	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Mar 6, 1998*	No. 22	at St. John's Semifinals	W 69–67 OT	24–7	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Mar 7, 1998*	No. 22	vs. No. 6 Connecticut Championship Game	L 64–69	24–8	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1998*	(5 S) No. 21	vs. (12 S) Iona Second Round	W 63–61[4]	25–8	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 15, 1998*	(5 S) No. 21	vs. (4 S) No. 18 New Mexico Second Round	W 56–46[5]	26–8	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 20, 1998*	(5 S) No. 21	vs. (1 S) No. 3 Duke South Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 67–80[6]	26–9	Tropicana Field  St. Petersburg, Florida
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South.

Rankings

Main article: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References

1. sports-reference.com 1997-98 Big East Conference Season Summary
2. Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
3. "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
4. "Syracuse Thwarts Iona On Janulis's 3-Pointer". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
5. "Syracuse Does Everything but Shoot Well in Victory". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
6. "Duke Overcomes Syracuse". The Washington Post. March 21, 1998. Retrieved June 26, 2021.