1998–99 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 1998–99 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University during the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was the Buckeyes’ first season at the new 19,500-seat Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, which replaced their previous stadium, St. John Arena. Led by second-year head coach Jim O'Brien, the Buckeyes finished 27–9 (12–4 Big Ten) and reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA vacated the team's Final Four appearance and adjusted their record to 1–1 due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.^[2][3]

1998–99 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four (Vacated)
Conference	Big Ten
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 14
Record	1–1 (27–9 unadjusted) (0–4 (12–4 unadjusted) Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim O'Brien (2nd season)
Home arena	Value City Arena
Seasons ← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

1998–99 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Michigan State†	15	–	1		.938			33	–	5		.868
No. 19 Indiana	9	–	7		.563			23	–	11		.676
No. 18 Wisconsin	9	–	7		.563			22	–	10		.688
No. 21 Iowa	9	–	7		.563			20	–	10		.667
Purdue	7	–	9		.438			21	–	13		.618
Northwestern	6	–	10		.375			15	–	14		.517
Penn State	5	–	11		.313			13	–	14		.481
Illinois	3	–	13		.188			14	–	18		.438
No. 14 Ohio State**	1	–	1		.500			1	–	1		.500
Minnesota***	0	–	8		.000			0	–	11		.000
Michigan*	0	–	11		.000			0	–	19		.000
† 1999 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll *Michigan: 12 games vacated due to sanctions against the program **Ohio State: 34 games including 5 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program[1] *** Minnesota vacated 17 games including 1 NCAA Tourn. game due to sanctions against the program Disputed records: Michigan: 12–19, 5–11; Ohio State: 27–9, 12–4; Minnesota: 17–11, 8–8

Roster

1998–99 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 3 Neshaun Coleman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr G 9 Devon Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr G 12 Scoonie Penn 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Salem, MA G 13 Brian Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr G 21 Boban Savović 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Šibenik, Croatia C 22 Shamar Herron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So F 23 Jason Singleton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr C 32 Ken Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Detroit, MI F 31 Kwadjo Steele 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr F 33 Jon Sanderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So G 35 Michael Redd 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Columbus, OH F 40 George Reese 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Jr Columbus, OH C 43 Will Dudley 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr	Head coach Jim O'Brien (Boston College) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 21, 1998*		vs. UAB	W 71–64	9–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 22, 1998*		vs. NC State	W 81–64	10–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 23, 1998*		vs. Ole Miss	W 67–62	11–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  San Juan, Puerto Rico
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 5, 1999*	No. 11	vs. Michigan Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal	W 87–69	23–7	United Center  Chicago, IL
Mar 6, 1999*	No. 11	vs. Illinois Big Ten Tournament Semifinal	L 77–79	23–8	United Center  Chicago, IL
NCAA Tournament
Mar 11, 1999*	(4 S) No. 14	vs. (13 S) Murray State First round	W 72–58	24–8	RCA Dome  Indianapolis, IN
Mar 13, 1999*	(4 S) No. 14	vs. (12 S) Detroit Second Round	W 75–44	25–8	RCA Dome  Indianapolis, IN
Mar 18, 1999*	(4 S) No. 14	vs. (1 S) No. 4 Auburn South Regional semifinal	W 72–64	26–8	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Mar 20, 1999*	(4 S) No. 14	vs. (3 S) No. 9 St. John's South Regional Final	W 77–74	27–8	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Mar 27, 1999*	(4 S) No. 14	vs. (1 W) No. 3 Connecticut National semifinal	L 58–64	27–9	Tropicana Field (41,340) St. Petersburg, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

See also: 1998-99 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings