1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

{{199798 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings}} The 1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island in the 1997–98 college basketball season. This was head coach Jim Harrick's first of two seasons at Rhode Island. The Rams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and played their home games at Keaney Gymnasium. They finished the season 259, 124 in A-10 play and lost in the semifinals of the 1998 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 1998 NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Stanford in the Midwest Regional final.

1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
Record259 (124 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coachJerry DeGregorio (1st season)
Home arenaKeaney Gymnasium

As of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, this is the furthest any Rhode Island men's team has ever advanced in the NCAA tournament.

Roster

1997–98 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 12 Cuttino Mobley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) Sr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 21 Tyson Wheeler 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) Sr New London, Connecticut
F Lamar Odom Current redshirt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Fr Queens, New York
F/C 34 Antonio Reynolds-Dean 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) Jr Marietta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Nov 17, 1997*
    No. 21 North Carolina-Wilmington W 78–69  1–0
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Nov 19, 1997*
    No. 20 at No. 12 Connecticut L 67–80  1–1
    Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
    Storrs, Connecticut
    Nov 30, 1997*
    at Boston University W 86–63  2–1
    Case Gym 
    Boston, Massachusetts
    Dec 3, 1997*
    at Brown W 75–57  3–1
    Pizzitola Sports Center 
    Providence, Rhode Island
    Dec 9, 1997*
    Providence W 69–58  4–1
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 13, 1997*
    UNLV W 91–73  5–1
    Keaney Gymnasium (6,429)
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 22, 1997*
    No. 22 Ohio W 85–72  6–1
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 29, 1997*
    No. 24 vs. No. 7 Stanford
    Cable Car Classic
    L 69–70  6–2
    San Jose Arena (6,109)
    San Jose, California
    Dec 30, 1997*
    No. 24 vs. Penn
    Cable Car Classic
    W 96–89  7–2
    San Jose Arena 
    San Jose, California
    Jan 4, 1998
    No. 24 at Temple W 74–64  8–2
    (1–0)
    Liacouras Center 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Jan 6, 1998
    No. 23 at Saint Joseph's W 83–68  9–2
    (2–0)
    Hagan Arena 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Jan 10, 1998
    No. 23 Duquesne W 83–76  10–2
    (3–0)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 13, 1998
    No. 20 at La Salle W 84–73  11–2
    (4–0)
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Jan 15, 1998*
    No. 20 Tulane W 85–61  12–2
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 17, 1998
    No. 20 at St. Bonaventure L 81–86  12–3
    (4–1)
    Reilly Center 
    St. Bonaventure, New York
    Jan 22, 1998
    No. 22 Virginia Tech W 73–66  13–3
    (5–1)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 25, 1998*
    No. 22 at No. 21 Cincinnati L 82–88  13–4
    Myrl Shoemaker Center 
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Jan 29, 1998
    No. 21 UMass L 57–74  13–5
    (5–2)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 1, 1998
    No. 21 at Fordham W 75–70  14–5
    (6–2)
    Rose Hill Gym 
    Bronx, New York
    Feb 3, 1998
    Saint Joseph's W 94–76  15–5
    (7–2)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 7, 1998*
    California W 72–63  16–5
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 8, 1998
    St. Bonaventure W 67–66  17–5
    (8–2)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 10, 1998
    No. 25 at No. 17 George Washington W 69–61  18–5
    (9–2)
    Charles E. Smith Center 
    Washington, D.C.
    Feb 14, 1998
    No. 25 Temple L 67–68  18–6
    (9–3)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 18, 1998
    at No. 18 UMass W 87–85 2OT 19–6
    (10–3)
    Mullins Center 
    Amherst, Massachusetts
    Feb 21, 1998
    at Dayton L 62–71  19–7
    (10–4)
    University of Dayton Arena 
    Dayton, Ohio
    Feb 24, 1998
    Xavier W 69–68  20–7
    (11–4)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 28, 1998
    Fordham W 71–57  21–7
    (12–4)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Atlantic 10 tournament
    Mar 5, 1998*
    (E2) vs. (W3) Dayton
    Quarterfinals
    W 83–70  22–7
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Mar 6, 1998*
    (E2) vs. (W1) Xavier
    Semifinals
    L 80–95  22–8
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 13, 1998*
    (8 MW) vs. (9 MW) No. 25 Murray State
    First round
    W 97–74[1]  23–8
    Myriad Convention Center 
    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    Mar 15, 1998*
    (8 MW) vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kansas
    Second Round
    W 80–75[2][3]  24–8
    Myriad Convention Center 
    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    Mar 20, 1998*
    (8 MW) vs. (13 MW) Valparaiso
    Midwest Regional semifinal Sweet Sixteen
    W 74–68[4]  25–8
    Scottrade Center 
    St. Louis, Missouri
    Mar 22, 1998*
    (8 MW) vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Stanford
    Midwest Regional final Elite Eight
    L 77–79[5]  25–9
    Scottrade Center 
    St. Louis, Missouri
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    MW=Midwest.
    All times are in EST.

    Rankings

    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    — = Not ranked.
    Week
    PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
    AP21202322242320222125Not released
    Coaches2525^2523222123242511

    *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
    ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

    Awards and honors

    1998 NBA draft

    Round Pick Player NBA Team
    241Cuttino MobleyHouston Rockets
    247Tyson WheelerToronto Raptors

    [6]

    References

    1. "Harrick and Rhode Island Post a Bittersweet Win". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
    2. "Rhode Island Stuns Kansas". The New York Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
    3. "Rhode Island Sends Kansas Home Early". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
    4. "URI, Stanford in Final Eight". The Washington Post. March 21, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
    5. "Stanford Defeats Rhode Island in Midwest Regional final, 79-77". The New York Times. March 23, 1998. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
    6. "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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