1997–98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1997–98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team finished 3rd in the conference. The Bruins competed in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to the Kentucky Wildcats in the sweet sixteen. This was the second season for head coach Steve Lavin. Seniors Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson, and Kris Johnson were honored as the team's co-Most Valuable Players.^[3] Johnson led UCLA in scoring with an 18.4 average, 21.1 in Pac-10 play.^[4][5] Baron Davis 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 scores, and he was not allowed to enroll.^[6]

1997–98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Pacific-10
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12[1]
AP	No. 19[1]
Record	24–9 (12–6 Pac-10)
Head coach	Steve Lavin (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Michael Holton Jim Saia Steve Spencer
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Arizona	17	–	1		.944			30	–	5		.857
No. 10 Stanford	15	–	3		.833			30	–	5		.857
No. 19 UCLA	12	–	6		.667			24	–	9		.727
Washington	11	–	7		.611			20	–	10		.667
Arizona State	8	–	10		.444			18	–	14		.563
Oregon	8	–	10		.444			13	–	14		.481
California	8	–	10		.444			12	–	15		.444
USC	5	–	13		.278			9	–	19		.321
Oregon State	3	–	15		.167			13	–	17		.433
Washington State	3	–	15		.167			10	–	19		.345
As of November 23, 2011[2] Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1997–98 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 12 Toby Bailey (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr Los Angeles, California F 4 Kevin Daley — — Panama City, Panama G 5 Baron Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr Los Angeles, California F 30 Sean Farnham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — So G 15 Matt Harbour — — F 52 J.R. Henderson (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Sr Bakersfield, California G 22 Rico Hines 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr Greenville, North Carolina G 54 Kris Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr Los Angeles, California G/F 3 Billy Knight — — G 20 Brandon Loyd — — C 34 Jelani McCoy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Jr Oakland, California G 30 Vince McGautha — — F 13 Travis Reed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr Los Angeles, California G 25 Earl Watson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr Kansas City, Kansas	Head coach Steve Lavin (Chapman) Assistant coach(es) Michael Holton (UCLA) Jim Saia (Chapman) Steve Spencer (Somona State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 30 January 2018

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
November 13, 1997		vs. Silute (Lithuania) Exhibition	W 92–80	0–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
November 19, 1997		vs. NBC Thunder Exhibition	W 76–74	0–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
Regular Season
November 27, 1997 ESPN	No. 7	vs. No. 4 North Carolina Great Alaska Shootout First Round	L 68–109	0–1	Sullivan Arena (8,700) Anchorage, AK
November 28, 1997	No. 7	at Alaska Anchorage Consolation 2nd Round	W 92–68	1–1	Sullivan Arena (8,700) Anchorage, AK
November 29, 1997	No. 7	vs. UAB Fifth Place Game	W 86–72	2–1	Sullivan Arena (8,700) Anchorage, AK
December 6, 1997 FSN	No. 15	vs. No. 8 New Mexico John R. Wooden Classic	W 69–58	3–1	Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (14,274) Anaheim, CA
December 13, 1997 FSW2	No. 12	Cal State Fullerton	W 120–91	4–1	Pauley Pavilion (9,724) Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 1997 FSW2	No. 11	Northern Arizona	W 90–68	5–1	Pauley Pavilion (7,488) Los Angeles, CA
December 20, 1997 FSW2	No. 11	Saint Louis	W 73–67	6–1	Pauley Pavilion (9,998) Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1997 FSW2	No. 11	Boise State	W 81–75	7–1	Pauley Pavilion (8,500) Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1997 ESPN	No. 9	at UNLV	W 65–57	8–1	Thomas & Mack Center (17,490) Paradise, NV
December 30, 1997 FSN	No. 9	Illinois	W 74–69	9–1	Pauley Pavilion (12,055) Los Angeles, CA
January 3, 1998 FX	No. 9	at No. 8 Arizona	L 75–87	9–2 (0–1)	McKale Center (14,551) Tucson, AZ
January 5, 1998	No. 9	at Arizona State	W 78–73	10–2 (1–1)	Wells Fargo Arena (8,075) Tempe, AZ
January 8, 1998 FSW2	No. 10	Oregon State	W 90–72	11–2 (2–1)	Pauley Pavilion (9,614) Los Angeles, CA
January 10, 1998 FX	No. 10	Oregon	W 68–66	12–2 (3–1)	Pauley Pavilion (11,713) Los Angeles, CA
January 15, 1998 FSN	No. 8	at California	W 74–73	13–2 (4–1)	Oakland Arena (10,927) Oakland, CA
January 17, 1998 CBS	No. 8	at No. 7 Stanford	L 80–93	13–3 (4–2)	Maples Pavilion (7,510) Stanford, CA
January 21, 1998 FSW2	No. 9	USC	W 101–84	14–3 (5–2)	Pauley Pavilion (12,327) Los Angeles, CA
January 25, 1998 CBS	No. 9	Louisville	W 88–82	15–3	Pauley Pavilion (10,059) Los Angeles, CA
January 29, 1998 FSW2	No. 8	Washington State	W 88–68	16–3 (6–2)	Pauley Pavilion (10,024) Los Angeles, CA
January 31, 1998 ABC	No. 8	Washington	W 105–94	17–3 (7–2)	Pauley Pavilion (11,242) Los Angeles, CA
February 5, 1998 FSN	No. 6	at Oregon	L 81–97	17–4 (7–3)	McArthur Court (9,087) Eugene, OR
February 7, 1998 ABC	No. 6	at Oregon State	W 84–75	18–4 (8–3)	Gill Coliseum (10,400) Corvallis, OR
February 12, 1998 FSN	No. 9	No. 14 Stanford	L 81–84	18–5 (8–4)	Pauley Pavilion (13,079) Los Angeles, CA
February 14, 1998 ABC	No. 9	California	W 87–84	19–5 (9–4)	Pauley Pavilion (11,497) Los Angeles, CA
February 18, 1998 FSW2	No. 12	at USC	W 82–75 OT	20–5 (10–4)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (7,167) Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1998 ABC	No. 12	at No. 2 Duke	L 84–120	20–6	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
February 26, 1998	No. 18	at Washington State	W 78–75	21–6 (11–4)	Beasley Coliseum (4,816) Corvallis, OR
March 01, 1998 CBS	No. 18	at Washington	L 94–95	21–7 (11–5)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (6,527) Seattle, WA
March 05, 1998 FSW2	No. 19	Arizona State	W 102–94	22–7 (12–5)	Pauley Pavilion (10,970) Los Angeles, CA
March 07, 1998 FSN	No. 19	No. 2 Arizona	L 87–91	22–8 (12–6)	Pauley Pavilion (12,799) Los Angeles, CA
NCAA tournament
March 13, 1998 CBS	No. 19	vs. Miami First Round	W 65–62	23–8	Georgia Dome (17,818) Atlanta, GA
March 15, 1998 CBS	No. 19	vs. No. 12 Michigan Second Round	W 85–82	24–8	Georgia Dome (19,423) Atlanta, GA
March 20, 1998 CBS	No. 19	vs. No. 5 Kentucky Sweet Sixteen	L 68–94	24–9	Tropicana Field (40,589) St. Petersburg, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

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