The 1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) Division I college basketball team that played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, 21–8 overall and 12–4 in the conference, shared a piece of the MAC West Division title and earned an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. As an 11-seed, WMU upset six-seeded Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual Final Four team

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

in the second round.

Preseason

The Broncos were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division and received one first-place vote. They won their two exhibition games, defeating Marathon Oil, 83–66 and the Ohio All-Stars, 93–71.

Season

WMU defeated Michigan 68–63 in the opening game of the season. Senior guard Saddi Washington scored 33 point on 10–22 shooting and the 12 point underdogs overcame an 11-point deficit with a 26–10 run to end the game.

Hoosier Classic

Western Michigan participated in the 1997 Hoosier Classic, the 16th-annual holiday tournament held at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Broncos played UNC Charlotte in the first game of the tournament, winning 81–65. In the championship game against Indiana, WMU held a 31–29 lead at the half before losing 70–63.

Saddi Washington Saddi Washington (born July 30, 1975) is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is the current men's basketball assistant coach for the Michigan basketball team. He played college basketball at Western Michigan. Before becomin ...

was named tournament MVP.

Conference tournament

Western Michigan finished the season tied with Ball State with the best conference record but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker and was given the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. In the first round of the tournament, WMU faced No. 7 seed Miami on their home court in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. Miami upset the Broncos 67–63 but the notable event of the game was Miami coach

Charlie Coles Charlie Coles (February 6, 1942 – June 7, 2013) was an American college basketball coach and the former men's basketball head coach at Miami University and Central Michigan University. He was born Charles Leroy Coles in Springfield, Ohio and ...

collapsing midway through the first half. The game was stopped while Coles was transported to a local hospital. Without Coles, the game resumed about two hours later.

NCAA tournament

Western Michigan received an

bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and were seeded No. 11. In the first round, they upset No. 6 Clemson 75–72. Their second round opponent, No. 3

defeated No. 14 College of Charleston in the first round. Stanford defeated WMU 83–65 to end the Broncos season.

Roster

The following table lists WMU's roster.

Schedule

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References

External links

Western Michigan University men's basketball media guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Western Michigan Broncos Men's Basketball Team Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball seasons Western Michigan Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball