The 1997–98 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Tubby Smith. He was in his first season as head coach after taking over from

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA D ...

. The team finished the season with a 29–4 record and won the

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

over the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

, 78–69.

Roster

Depth chart

Schedule

November

The Tubby Smith-era officially began on November 18 with an 88 to 49 victory over Morehead State at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility o ...

. Allen Edwards added 15 points, Wayne Turner had 12 points and

Heshimu Evans Heshimu Kenyata Evans (born May 8, 1975) is an American-born Portuguese former basketball player, who last played for S.L. Benfica of the Portuguese Basketball League (LPB). Evans, a small forward from Evander Childs High School in The Bronx, w ...

had 10 points. Four days later Kentucky traveled to island of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

to compete in the annual

Maui Invitational Tournament The Maui Invitational, currently known as the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving (US), Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina ...

, Kentucky defeated

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

70 to 55 in the first round of the tournament. The victory over the Colonials set up a game the next night in the semifinals against No. 1

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, a rematch of the 1997 NCAA tournament championship Game. Kentucky experienced its first loss of the season with a 74 to 89 set back. After the loss the Wildcats rebounded the next night in the 3rd-place game against

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

with a 77 to 55 victory. After Kentucky left Maui they traveled to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

three days later to defeat No. 13 Clemson 76 to 61. Kentucky finished November ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and with a 4–1 record.

December

On December 3 Kentucky defeated No. 6

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

89 to 75 in the annual Great Eight Classic in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

carried Kentucky with 19 points on 8-10 field goal shooting. Three days later Kentucky traveled to Indianapolis to defeat rival

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

75 to 72. Nazr Mohammed and Jeff Sheppard led the way with 21 points a piece. Four days later Kentucky traveled to Buffalo to defeat Canisius 81 to 54. On December 13 the Wildcats played its first home game in 23 days against No. 24

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. They defeated the Yellow Jackets 85 to 71 behind 14 points and 10 rebounds by Heshimu Evans. One week later Kentucky defeated Tubby Smith's former school

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

74 to 53. Three nights later Kentucky defeated American 75 to 52. Four days later Kentucky played in-state rival

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in the annual Battle for the Bluegrass. Kentucky was upset by the Cardinals 76 to 79 due in part to the Wildcats shooting 5 for 23 from the 3 point line. Three nights later the Wildcats bounced back on the road in

Athens, OH Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

with a 95 to 58 victory over

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Kentucky finished the 1997 calendar year with a 11-2 record and ranked 6th in the AP poll.

January

February

March

Results

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Team players drafted into the NBA

References

External links

1998 NCAA Basketball National Championship Utah vs Kentucky
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...