1997–98 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Big 12 Conference.

1997–98 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	22–11 (11–5 Big 12)
Head coach	Kelvin Sampson (4th season)
Home arena	Lloyd Noble Center (Capacity: 10,871)
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Kansas †	15	–	1		.938			35	–	4		.897
Oklahoma State	11	–	5		.688			22	–	7		.759
Oklahoma	11	–	5		.688			22	–	11		.667
Nebraska	10	–	6		.625			20	–	12		.625
Baylor	8	–	8		.500			14	–	14		.500
Missouri	8	–	8		.500			17	–	15		.531
Texas Tech	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Kansas State	7	–	9		.438			17	–	12		.586
Colorado	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Texas	6	–	10		.375			14	–	17		.452
Iowa State	5	–	11		.313			12	–	18		.400
Texas A&M	1	–	15		.063			7	–	20		.259
† 1998 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll ^[1]

The team posted a 22–11 overall record (11–5 Big 12). The Sooners received a bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the East region. The Sooners lost to No. 7 seed Stanford, 94–87 in OT, in the opening round.^[2]

Roster

1997–98 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 21 Eduardo Nájera 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So G 24 Ryan Humphrey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Booker T. Washington Tulsa, Oklahoma G 31 Corey Brewer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr West Memphis, Arkansas C 32 Evan Wiley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) — Sr	Head coach Kelvin Sampson Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 15, 1997*	No. 20	Jackson State	W 75–62	1–0	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
November 18, 1997*	No. 19	UT Arlington	W 81–63	2–0	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
November 22, 1997*	No. 19	Southwest Texas State	W 81–68	3–0	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
November 28, 1997*	No. 18	vs. Butler	L 63–73	3–1	Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium  Hilo, Hawaii
November 29, 1997*	No. 18	vs. Wisconsin	L 64–75	3–2	Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium  Hilo, Hawaii
November 30, 1997*	No. 18	at Hawaii–Hilo	W 86–70	4–2	Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium  Hilo, Hawaii
December 4, 1997*		Arkansas-Pine Bluff	W 82–51	5–2	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
December 6, 1997*		at Mississippi State	L 65–67 ^OT	5–3	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, Mississippi
December 13, 1997*		Memphis	L 78–80	5–4	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
December 20, 1997*		Florida Atlantic	W 91–65	6–4	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
December 22, 1997*		North Texas	W 95–72	7–4	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
December 27, 1997*		vs. Coppin State All-College Basketball Classic	W 83–72	8–4	The Myriad  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 28, 1997*		vs. Alabama All-College Basketball Classic	W 79–61	9–4	The Myriad  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Big 12 Regular Season
January 3, 1998		at Colorado	W 69–68	10–4 (1–0)	Coors Events Center  Boulder, Colorado
January 7, 1998		Kansas State	W 71–64	11–4 (2–0)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
January 10, 1998		at Texas A&M	W 76–66	12–4 (3–0)	Reed Arena  College Station, Texas
January 12, 1998		Texas	W 91–75	13–4 (4–0)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
January 18, 1998		at Nebraska	L 43–53	13–5 (4–1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
January 21, 1998		Iowa State	W 64–63	14–5 (5–1)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
January 24, 1998		at Baylor	W 61–60	15–5 (6–1)	Ferrell Center  Waco, Texas
January 26, 1998		Oklahoma State Bedlam Series	L 84–88	15–6 (6–2)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
January 31, 1998		Texas A&M	W 80–71	16–6 (7–2)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
February 4, 1998		Texas Tech	L 68–70	16–7 (7–3)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
February 8, 1998		at Texas	W 81–74	17–7 (8–3)	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
February 14, 1998		at Oklahoma State Bedlam Series	L 66–70	17–8 (8–4)	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, Oklahoma
February 18, 1998		Baylor	W 75–63	18–8 (9–4)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
February 21, 1998		Missouri	W 80–76	19–8 (10–4)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
February 23, 1998		at No. 4 Kansas	L 70–83	19–9 (10–5)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, Kansas
February 28, 1998		at Texas Tech	W 89–56	20–9 (11–5)	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, Texas
Big 12 Tournament
March 6, 1998*	(3)	vs. (6) Missouri Quarterfinals	W 58–53	21–9	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, Missouri
March 7, 1998*	(3)	vs. (10) Texas Semifinals	W 68–55	22–9	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, Missouri
March 8, 1998*	(3)	vs. (1) No. 3 Kansas Championship game	L 58–72	22–10	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
March 12, 1998*	(10 E)	vs. (7 E) Indiana First round	L 87–94 ^OT	22–11	MCI Center  Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region E=East.

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Rankings

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

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References

1. 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
2. "Indiana Narrowly Avoids Oklahoma Upset". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
3. "1997-98 Oklahoma Sooners Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
4. "2019-20 Oklahoma Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
5. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1064–1065. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.