1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Jerry Green, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. After finishing third in the SEC East regular season standings with a 9–7 conference record, they were invited to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the West region where they lost in the opening round.

1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	East
Record	20–9 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach	Jerry Green (1st season)
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena

1997–98 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 5 Kentucky †	14	–	2		.875			35	–	4		.897
No. 14 South Carolina	11	–	5		.688			23	–	8		.742
Tennessee	9	–	7		.563			20	–	9		.690
Georgia	7	–	9		.438			20	–	15		.571
Vanderbilt	7	–	9		.438			20	–	13		.606
Florida	6	–	10		.375			14	–	15		.483
West
No. 13 Ole Miss	12	–	4		.750			22	–	7		.759
No. 17 Arkansas	11	–	5		.688			24	–	9		.727
Auburn	7	–	9		.438			16	–	14		.533
Alabama	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Mississippi State	4	–	12		.250			15	–	15		.500
LSU	2	–	14		.125			9	–	18		.333
† 1998 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1997–98 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 15 Brandon Wharton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr   Nashville, Tennessee F 43 C. J. Black 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — So   Chattanooga, Tennessee F 44 Isiah Victor 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr   Hopkinsville, Kentucky F 55 Charles Hathaway 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) — So Hillwood Nashville, Tennessee	Head coach Jerry Green Assistant coach(es) 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 (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 14, 1997*		Winthrop	W 75–62	1–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 17, 1997*		Miami (OH)	W 75–74	2–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 19, 1997*		UNC Asheville	W 75–69	3–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 23, 1997*		Austin Peay	W 74–65	4–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 28, 1997*		Appalachian State	W 69–46	5–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 2, 1997*		Tennessee Tech	W 83–69	6–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 7, 1997*		Wofford	W 92–63	7–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1997*		Saint Joseph's	W 74–54	8–0	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1997*		at Memphis	W 68–66	9–0	Pyramid Arena  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 30, 1997*		at USC	W 74–70	10–0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, California
Jan 3, 1998		at Florida	L 69–83	10–1 (0–1)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center  Gainesville, Florida
Jan 7, 1998		Auburn	L 69–74	10–2 (0–2)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 10, 1998		at Vanderbilt	L 79–80	10–3 (0–3)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 17, 1998		No. 11 Ole Miss	W 77–67	11–3 (1–3)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 21, 1998 8:00 pm, JPS		at No. 14 South Carolina	L 51–81	11–4 (1–4)	Carolina Coliseum  Columbia, South Carolina
Jan 24, 1998		No. 7 Kentucky	L 67–85	11–5 (1–5)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 28, 1998		at Alabama	W 84–70	12–5 (2–5)	Coleman Coliseum  Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 31, 1998		at LSU	W 72–65	13–5 (3–5)	Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 4, 1998		Georgia	W 77–48	14–5 (4–5)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 7, 1998 2:00 pm, JPS		No. 13 South Carolina	W 70–69	15–5 (5–5)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 11, 1998 8:00 pm, JPS		at No. 7 Kentucky	L 74–80	15–6 (5–6)	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 14, 1998 12:30 pm, JPS		No. 12 Arkansas	W 74–71	16–6 (6–6)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 17, 1998		at Mississippi State	W 87–63	17–6 (7–6)	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, Mississippi
Feb 21, 1998		Vanderbilt	W 90–76	18–6 (8–6)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 25, 1998		Florida	W 79–75	19–6 (9–6)	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 28, 1998 4:00 pm, JPS		at Georgia	L 72–77	19–7 (9–7)	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, Georgia
SEC tournament
Mar 5, 1998*  JPS		vs. LSU First Round	W 73–62	20–7	Georgia Dome  Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 5, 1998*  JPS		vs. Arkansas Quarterfinals	L 96–102	20–8	Georgia Dome  Atlanta, Georgia
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1998*  CBS	(8 W)	vs. (9 W) Illinois State First Round	L 81–82 OT	20–9	ARCO Arena (15,284) Sacramento, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source

Rankings

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