The 1997–98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

in the

1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1997 and concluded with the 64-team 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Kentucky Wildcats ear ...

. The team finished 3rd in the conference. The Bruins competed in the

1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1998, and ended with the champio ...

, losing to the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

in the sweet sixteen. This was the second season for head coach

Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head ...

. Seniors Toby Bailey,

J.R. Henderson is an American-Japanese professional basketball player. Biography Raised in Bakersfield, California, Sakuragi played college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and was a member of the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, ...

, and Kris Johnson were honored as the team's co-

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

s. Johnson led UCLA in scoring with an 18.4 average, 21.1 in

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

play.

Baron Davis Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is a studio analyst for the ''NBA on TNT''. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in st ...

was the prize recruit of the incoming freshman class. Fellow Los Angeles prep star Schea Cotton had also committed to UCLA, but the NCAA invalidated his

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

scores, and he was not allowed to enroll.

Roster

Schedule

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Ucla The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...