1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented University of Cincinnati as a member of Conference USA during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bob Huggins, serving in his 9th year at the school. The team won regular season and Conference USA tournament titles to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 2 seed in the West region. After an opening round victory over Northern Arizona, Cincinnati was upset in the second round by West Virginia, 75–74.^[2] The Bearcats finished with a 27–6 record (14–2 C-USA).

1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
Conference USA regular season champions Conference USA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Conference USA
Division	American
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 9
Record	27–6 (14–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Bob Huggins (9th season)
Assistant coach	Mick Cronin (2nd season)
Home arena	Myrl Shoemaker Center
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
American
No. 9 Cincinnati †	14	–	2		.875			27	–	6		.818
UNC Charlotte	13	–	3		.813			20	–	11		.645
Saint Louis	11	–	5		.688			22	–	11		.667
Marquette	8	–	8		.500			20	–	11		.645
Louisville	5	–	11		.313			12	–	20		.375
DePaul	3	–	13		.188			7	–	23		.233
National
Memphis	12	–	4		.750			17	–	12		.586
UAB	10	–	6		.625			21	–	12		.636
Southern Miss	9	–	7		.563			22	–	11		.667
South Florida	7	–	9		.438			17	–	13		.567
Houston	2	–	14		.125			9	–	20		.310
Tulane	2	–	14		.125			7	–	22		.241
† 1998 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

1997–98 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 5 D'Juan Baker 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr F 34 Bobby Brannen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Cincinnati, Ohio F 34 John Carson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Springfield, Ohio G 14 David Dissinger 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Cincinnati, Ohio F 24 Ryan Fletcher 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS So Franklin, Ohio F Michael Horton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr F Brad Jackson (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr Canton, Ohio G 21 Melvin Levett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Cleveland, Ohio C 4 Kenyon Martin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Saginaw, Michigan G Alex Meachum (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr Cincinnati, Ohio G Shawn Myrick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr F 23 Ruben Patterson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Cleveland, Ohio G Brent Petrus 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr Elyria, Ohio F 5 Jermaine Tate (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS So Toledo, Ohio G 42 Steven London (I) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Louisville, KY	Head coach Bob Huggins Assistant coach(es) Mick Cronin Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Source^[3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 17, 1997*		Detroit	W 76–66	1–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 19, 1997*		Arizona State	L 79–87	1–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 30, 1997*		Morehead State	W 87–57	2–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 3, 1997*		Alcorn State	W 90–76	3–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 6, 1997*		Wright State	W 85–60	4–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 13, 1997*		at No. 7 Xavier	L 68–88	4–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 17, 1997*		Minnesota	W 81–71	5–2	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 20, 1997*		Eastern Kentucky	W 106–53	6–2	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 27, 1997*		vs. UMass Gatorade Rock 'n Roll Shootout	W 74–66 OT	7–2	Gund Arena (12,324) Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 30, 1997*		Winthrop	W 79–36	8–2	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 4, 1998		at Houston	W 81–68	9–2 (1–0)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 8, 1998		Memphis	W 61–54	10–2 (2–0)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 11, 1998		No. 20 Marquette	W 68–51	11–2 (3–0)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 15, 1998		Southern Miss	W 77–61	12–2 (4–0)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 18, 1998		at Louisville	W 71–57	13–2 (5–0)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 20, 1998	No. 21	at Tulane	W 60–50	14–2 (6–0)	Avron B. Fogelman Arena  New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 22, 1998	No. 21	at Marquette	L 63–66 OT	14–3 (6–1)	Bradley Center  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 25, 1998*	No. 21	No. 22 Rhode Island	W 88–82	15–3	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 29, 1998		Louisville	W 67–61	16–3 (7–1)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 1, 1998*		at No. 13 South Carolina	L 65–67	16–4	Carolina Coliseum  Columbia, South Carolina
Feb 5, 1998		at DePaul	W 109–73	17–4 (8–1)	Rosemont Horizon  Rosemont, Illinois
Conference USA Tournament
Mar 5, 1998*	(1) No. 14	(9) Louisville Quarterfinals	W 64–50	24–5	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 6, 1998*	(1) No. 14	(4) UAB Semifinals	W 100–85	25–5	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 7, 1998*	(1) No. 14	(2) Charlotte Championship Game	W 71–57	26–5	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1998*	(2 W) No. 9	vs. (15 W) Northern Arizona First Round	W 65–62[4]	27–5	BSU Pavilion  Boise, Idaho
Mar 14, 1998*	(2 W) No. 9	vs. (10 W) West Virginia Second Round	L 74–75	27–6	BSU Pavilion  Boise, Idaho
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

Rankings

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

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	21	18	20	19	17	17	14	9	Not released
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	20	20	21	18	17	13	11	14

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
*AP did not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings