1997–98 UMass Minutemen basketball team

The 1997–98 UMass Minutemen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen, led by second year head coach Bruiser Flint, played their home games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center and are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 12–4 in A-10 play to finish in third place.

1997–98 UMass Minutemen men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Round of 64
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	21–11 (12–4 A-10)
Head coach	Bruiser Flint (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Geoff Arnold Tony Barbee John Robic
Home arena	William D. Mullins Memorial Center
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 24 Temple	13	–	3		.813			21	–	9		.700
Rhode Island	12	–	4		.750			25	–	9		.735
UMass	12	–	4		.750			21	–	11		.656
St. Bonaventure	6	–	10		.375			17	–	15		.531
Saint Joseph's	3	–	13		.188			11	–	17		.393
Fordham	2	–	14		.125			6	–	21		.222
West
No. 23 Xavier †	11	–	5		.688			22	–	8		.733
George Washington	11	–	5		.688			24	–	9		.727
Dayton	11	–	5		.688			21	–	12		.636
Virginia Tech	5	–	11		.313			10	–	17		.370
Duquesne	5	–	11		.313			11	–	19		.367
La Salle	5	–	11		.313			9	–	18		.333
† 1998 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

Number	Name	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
3	Charlton Clarke	Guard	6–3	215	Junior	Bronx, New York
4	Lari Ketner	Center	6–10	268	Junior	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5	Monty Mack	Guard	6–3	193	Sophomore	South Boston, Massachusetts
10	Jonathan DePina	Guard	5–9	175	Freshman	South Boston, Massachusetts
12	Ross Burns	Guard	6–3	180	Junior	Greenfield, Massachusetts
13	Rafael Cruz	Guard	6–2	185	Freshman	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
14	Andy Maclay	Guard	6–4	195	Junior	Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
20	Winston Smith	Forward	6–5	218	Sophomore	Summit, New Jersey
22	Chris Kirkland	Forward	6–6	206	Sophomore	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
23	Mike Babul	Forward	6–6	204	Sophomore	North Attleboro, Massachusetts
25	Ronnell Blizzard	Forward	6–8	218	Freshman	Waterbury, Connecticut
34	Tyrone Weeks	Forward	6–7	258	Senior	Philadelphia, PA
40	Ajmal Basit	Center/Forward	6–9	248	Sophomore	Brooklyn, New York

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
11/22/1997*		at No. 13 Fresno State	L 64–82	0–1	Selland Arena (10,220) Fresno, California
11/26/1997*		vs. SW Louisiana Great Alaska Shootout	W 80–64	1–1	Sullivan Arena (–) Anchorage, Alaska
11/28/1997*		vs. No. 6 Purdue Great Alaska Shootout	L 69–82	1–2	Sullivan Arena (8,700) Anchorage, Alaska
11/29/1997*		vs. Seton Hall Great Alaska Shootout	W 73–60	2–2	Sullivan Arena (8,700) Anchorage, Alaska
12/02/1997*		College of Charleston	W 52–40	3–2	Mullins Center (7,536) Amherst, Massachusetts
12/06/1997*		Marshall	W 61–59	4–2	Mullins Center (7,107) Amherst, MA
12/10/1997*		at No. 3 Kansas	L 71–73	4–3	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas
12/14/1997*		vs. Boston College Commonwealth Classic	W 65–57	5–3	Fleet Center (9,218) Boston, Massachusetts
12/20/1997*		vs. Colorado Las Vegas Shootout	W 79–68	6–3	Thomas & Mack Center (5,000) Las Vegas, Nevada
12/23/1997*		at No. 11 Connecticut U-Game	L 55–72	6–4	Hartford Civic Center (10,797) Hartford, Connecticut
12/27/1997*		vs. Cincinnati Gatorade Rock 'n Roll Shootout	L 66–74 OT	6–5	Gund Arena (12,324) Cleveland, Ohio
01/3/1998		at Saint Joseph's	W 72–66	7–5 (1–0)	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
01/06/1998		at Fordham	W 73–55	8–5 (2–0)	Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,217) The Bronx, New York
01/10/1998		George Washington	W 79–48	9–5 (3–0)	Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, MA
01/15/1998*		vs. Charlotte A-10/Conference USA Challenge	W 68–62 OT	10–5	Providence Civic Center (3,925) Providence, Rhode Island
01/17/1997		Fordham	W 62–46	11–5 (4–0)	Mullins Center (7,110) Amherst, MA
01/19/1998		St. Bonaventure	W 62–50	12–5 (5–0)	Mullins Center (7,363) Amherst, MA
01/22/1998*		at Davidson	W 82–66	13–5	Belk Arena (4,417) Davidson, North Carolina
01/24/1998		at Virginia Tech	W 68–59	14–5 (6–0)	Cassell Coliseum (7,811) Blacksburg, Virginia
01/29/1998		at No. 21 Rhode Island	W 74–57	15–5 (7–0)	Providence Civic Center (12,412) Providence, RI
02/01/1998		Dayton	W 85–69	16–5 (8–0)	Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, MA
02/03/1998	No. 23	Temple	L 47–61	16–6 (8–1)	Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, MA
02/08/1998	No. 23	at No. 21 Xavier	W 73–62	17–6 (9–1)	Cincinnati Gardens (10,100) Cincinnati, Ohio
02/10/1998	No. 20	at Duquesne	W 74–68	18–6 (10–1)	Palumbo Center (5,507) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
02/14/1998	No. 20	La Salle	W 81–71	19–6 (11–1)	Mullins Center (8,412) Amherst, MA
02/18/1998	No. 18	Rhode Island	W 85–77 2OT	19–7 (11–2)	Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, MA
02/21/1998	No. 18	Saint Joseph's	W 82–79 OT	20–7 (12–2)	Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, MA
02/25/1998	No. 20	St. Bonaventure	L 70–72 2OT	20–8 (12–3)	Reilly Center (6,000) Olean, New York
03/01/1998	No. 20	at No. 24 Temple	L 66–74	20–9 (12–4)	Apollo of Temple (10,021) Philadelphia, PA
1998 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament
03/04/1998	(E3)	vs. (W6) Virginia Tech 1st Round	W 64–58	21–9	CoreStates Spectrum (6,204) Philadelphia, PA
03/05/1998	(E3)	vs. (W2) George Washington Quarterfinal	L 83–88	21–10	CoreStates Spectrum (7,545) Philadelphia, PA
1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
03/13/1998*	(7 SE)	vs. (10 SE) Saint Louis First Round	L 46–51	21–11	Georgia Dome (17,474) Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.