1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1998 Final Four logo
Season	1997–98
Teams	64
Finals site	Alamodome San Antonio
Champions	Kentucky (7th title, 10th title game, 13th Final Four)
Runner-up	Utah (2nd title game, 4th Final Four)
Semifinalists	North Carolina (14th Final Four) Stanford (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Tubby Smith (1st title)
MOP	Jeff Sheppard Kentucky
Attendance	663,876
Top scorer	Michael Doleac Utah (115 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «1997 1999»

The 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1998, and ended with the championship game on March 30 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A total of 63 games were played.

The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their third consecutive Final Four, Stanford, making their first appearance since their initial Final Four run in 1942, Utah, making their fourth Final Four and first since 1966, and North Carolina, who returned for a fourteenth overall time and third in four seasons.

Kentucky won the national title, its second in three seasons and seventh overall, by defeating Utah 78-69 in the championship game.

Jeff Sheppard of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last three games in the tournament, including a 17-point second half comeback against the Duke Blue Devils, leading to the school's fans dubbing the team the "Comeback Cats". This was Kentucky's third straight championship game appearance.

Bryce Drew led the 13th-ranked Valparaiso Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen, including a memorable play that remains part of March Madness lore.^[1]

Locations

Sacramento

Boise

Oklahoma City

Chicago

Lexington

Atlanta

Washington, D.C.

Hartford

1998 first and second rounds

Anaheim

St. Louis

St. Petersburg

Greensboro

San Antonio

1998 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

First and Second Rounds

March 12 and 14

ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Host: University of the Pacific)

BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University)

Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut

MCI Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: George Mason University)

March 13 and 15

Georgia Dome, Atlanta (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)

Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City (Host: University of Oklahoma)

Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)

United Center, Chicago (Host: Big Ten Conference)

Regionals

March 19 and 21

East Regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference)

West Regional, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference)

March 20 and 22

Midwest Regional, Kiel Center, St. Louis (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

South Regional, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

Final Four

March 28 and 30

Alamodome, San Antonio

Teams

East Regional – Greensboro
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid type
#1	North Carolina	Bill Guthridge	ACC	30-3	Automatic
#2	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	Big East	29-4	Automatic
#3	South Carolina	Eddie Fogler	SEC	23-7	At-Large
#4	Michigan State	Tom Izzo	Big Ten	20-7	At-Large
#5	Princeton	Bill Carmody	Ivy League	26-1	Automatic
#6	Xavier	Skip Prosser	Atlantic 10	22-7	Automatic
#7	Indiana	Bob Knight	Big Ten	19-11	At-Large
#8	UNC-Charlotte	Melvin Watkins	Conference USA	19-10	At-Large
#9	Illinois-Chicago	Jimmy Collins	MCC	22-5	At-Large
#10	Oklahoma	Kelvin Sampson	Big 12	22-10	At-Large
#11	Washington	Bob Bender	Pac-10	18-9	At-Large
#12	UNLV	Bill Bayno	WAC	20-12	Automatic
#13	Eastern Michigan	Milton Barnes	Mid-American	20-9	Automatic
#14	Richmond	John Beilein	CAA	22-7	Automatic
#15	Fairleigh Dickinson	Tom Green	NEC	23-6	Automatic
#16	Navy	Don DeVoe	Patriot League	19-10	Automatic

West Regional – Anaheim
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Arizona	Lute Olson	Pac-10	27-4	Automatic
#2	Cincinnati	Bob Huggins	Conference USA	26-5	Automatic
#3	Utah	Rick Majerus	WAC	25-3	At-Large
#4	Maryland	Gary Williams	ACC	19-10	At-Large
#5	Illinois	Lon Kruger	Big Ten	22-9	At-Large
#6	Arkansas	Nolan Richardson	SEC	23-8	At-Large
#7	Temple	John Chaney	Atlantic 10	21-8	At-Large
#8	Tennessee	Jerry Green	SEC	20-8	At-Large
#9	Illinois State	Kevin Stallings	Missouri Valley	24-5	Automatic
#10	West Virginia	Gale Catlett	Big East	22-8	At-Large
#11	Nebraska	Danny Nee	Big 12	20-11	At-Large
#12	South Alabama	Bob Weltlich	Sun Belt	21-6	Automatic
#13	Utah State	Larry Eustachy	Big West	25-7	Automatic
#14	San Francisco	Phil Mathews	West Coast	19-10	Automatic
#15	Northern Arizona	Ben Howland	Big Sky	21-7	Automatic
#16	Nicholls State	Rickey Broussard	Southland	19-9	Automatic

Midwest Regional – St. Louis
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Kansas	Roy Williams	Big 12	34-3	Automatic
#2	Purdue	Gene Keady	Big Ten	26-7	At-Large
#3	Stanford	Mike Montgomery	Pac-10	26-4	At-Large
#4	Ole Miss	Rob Evans	SEC	22-6	At-Large
#5	TCU	Billy Tubbs	WAC	27-5	At-Large
#6	Clemson	Rick Barnes	ACC	18-13	At-Large
#7	St. John's	Fran Fraschilla	Big East	22-9	At-Large
#8	Rhode Island	Jim Harrick	Atlantic 10	22-8	At-Large
#9	Murray State	Mark Gottfried	Ohio Valley	29-3	Automatic
#10	Detroit	Perry Watson	MCC	24-5	At-Large
#11	Western Michigan	Bob Donewald	Mid-American	20-7	At-Large
#12	Florida State	Steve Robinson	ACC	17-13	At-Large
#13	Valparaiso	Homer Drew	Mid-Continent	21-9	Automatic
#14	College of Charleston	John Kresse	TAAC	24-5	Automatic
#15	Delaware	Mike Brey	America East	20-9	Automatic
#16	Prairie View A&M	Elwood Plummer	SWAC	13-16	Automatic

South Regional – St. Petersburg
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Duke	Mike Krzyzewski	ACC	29-3	At-Large
#2	Kentucky	Tubby Smith	SEC	29-4	Automatic
#3	Michigan (vacated)	Brian Ellerbe	Big Ten	24-8	Automatic
#4	New Mexico	Dave Bliss	WAC	23-7	At-Large
#5	Syracuse	Jim Boeheim	Big East	24-8	At-Large
#6	UCLA	Steve Lavin	Pac-10	22-8	At-Large
#7	Massachusetts	Bruiser Flint	Atlantic 10	21-10	At-Large
#8	Oklahoma State	Eddie Sutton	Big 12	21-6	At-Large
#9	George Washington	Mike Jarvis	Atlantic 10	24-8	At-Large
#10	Saint Louis	Charlie Spoonhour	Conference USA	21-10	At-Large
#11	Miami (FL)	Leonard Hamilton	Big East	18-9	At-Large
#12	Iona	Tim Welsh	MAAC	27-5	Automatic
#13	Butler	Barry Collier	MCC	22-10	Automatic
#14	Davidson	Bob McKillop	Southern	20-9	Automatic
#15	South Carolina State	Cy Alexander	MEAC	22-7	Automatic
#16	Radford	Ron Bradley	Big South	20-9	Automatic

Bids by conference

Bids by Conference
Bids	Conference(s)
5	Atlantic 10, ACC, Big Ten, Big East, SEC
4	Big 12, Pac-10, WAC
3	C-USA, MCC
2	MAC
1	19 others

Bracket

East Regional – Greensboro, North Carolina

	First Round					Second Round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Final
	1	North Carolina	88
	16	Navy	52
						1	North Carolina	93
	Hartford
						8	UNC-Charlotte	83*
	8	UNC-Charlotte	77
	9	UIC	62
											1	North Carolina	73
											4	Michigan State	58
	5	Princeton	69
	12	UNLV	57
						5	Princeton	56
	Hartford
						4	Michigan State	63
	4	Michigan State	83
	13	Eastern Michigan	71
																1	North Carolina	75
																2	Connecticut	64
	6	Xavier	68
	11	Washington	69
						11	Washington	81
	Washington, D.C.
						14	Richmond	66
	3	South Carolina	61
	14	Richmond	62
											11	Washington	74
											2	Connecticut	75
	7	Indiana	94
	10	Oklahoma	87*
						7	Indiana	68
	Washington, D.C.
						2	Connecticut	78
	2	Connecticut	93
	15	Fairleigh Dickinson	85

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Saturday, March 21

box score

#1 North Carolina Tar Heels 75, #2 Connecticut Huskies 64
Pts: A. Jamison 20 Rebs: A. Jamison 11 Asts: E. Cota 9		Pts: K. El-Amin 24 Rebs: K. Freeman 7 Asts: M. Hardnett 4 Halftime Score: North Carolina, 36-32

Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, North Carolina Attendance: 23,235 Referees: Mark Reischling, Eddie Jackson, Dick Cartmell

West Regional – Anaheim, California

	First Round					Second Round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Arizona	99
	16	Nicholls State	60
						1	Arizona	82
	Sacramento
						9	Illinois State	49
	8	Tennessee	81
	9	Illinois State	82*
											1	Arizona	87
											4	Maryland	79
	5	Illinois	64
	12	South Alabama	51
						5	Illinois	61
	Sacramento
						4	Maryland	67
	4	Maryland	82
	13	Utah State	68
																1	Arizona	51
																3	Utah	76
	6	Arkansas	74
	11	Nebraska	65
						6	Arkansas	69
	Boise
						3	Utah	75
	3	Utah	85
	14	San Francisco	68
											3	Utah	65
											10	West Virginia	62
	7	Temple	52
	10	West Virginia	82
						10	West Virginia	75
	Boise
						2	Cincinnati	74
	2	Cincinnati	65
	15	Northern Arizona	62

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Saturday, March 21

box score

#3 Utah Utes 76, #1 Arizona Wildcats 51
Pts: A. Miller 18 Rebs: A. Miller 13 Asts: A. Miller 14		Pts: J. Terry 16 Rebs: B. Davison 10 Asts: M. Simon 4 Halftime Score: Utah, 29-20

Arrowhead Pond – Anaheim, California Attendance: 17,851 Referees: Gerald Boudreaux, Tony Greene, Tom Rucker

South Regional – St. Petersburg, Florida

	First Round					Second Round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Duke	99
	16	Radford	63
						1	Duke	79
	Lexington
						8	Oklahoma State	73
	8	Oklahoma State	74
	9	George Washington	59
											1	Duke	80
											5	Syracuse	67
	5	Syracuse	63
	12	Iona	61
						5	Syracuse	56
	Lexington
						4	New Mexico	46
	4	New Mexico	79
	13	Butler	62
																1	Duke	84
																2	Kentucky	86
	6	UCLA	65
	11	Miami (FL)	62
						6	UCLA	85
	Atlanta
						3	Michigan	82
	3	Michigan	80
	14	Davidson	61
											6	UCLA	68
											2	Kentucky	94
	7	Massachusetts	46
	10	Saint Louis	51
						10	Saint Louis	61
	Atlanta
						2	Kentucky	88
	2	Kentucky	82
	15	South Carolina State	67

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Sunday, March 22

box score

#2 Kentucky Wildcats 86, #1 Duke Blue Devils 84
Pts: J. Sheppard 18 Rebs: H. Evans, J. Sheppard 11 Asts: W. Turner 8		Pts: R. McLeod 19 Rebs: R. McLeod, S. Battier 8 Asts: S. Wojciechowski, T. Langdon 4 Halftime Score: Duke, 49-39

Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, Florida Attendance: 40,589 Referees: Tom Harrington, Mike Sanzere, Curtis Shaw

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

	First Round					Second Round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Kansas	110
	16	Prairie View	52
						1	Kansas	75
	Oklahoma City
						8	Rhode Island	80
	8	Rhode Island	97
	9	Murray State	74
											8	Rhode Island	74
											13	Valparaiso	68
	5	TCU	87
	12	Florida State	96
						12	Florida State	77
	Oklahoma City
						13	Valparaiso	83*
	4	Ole Miss	69
	13	Valparaíso	70
																8	Rhode Island	77
																3	Stanford	79
	6	Clemson	72
	11	Western Michigan	75
						11	Western Michigan	65
	Chicago
						3	Stanford	83
	3	Stanford	67
	14	College of Charleston	57
											3	Stanford	67
											2	Purdue	59
	7	St. John's	64
	10	Detroit	66
						10	Detroit	65
	Chicago
						2	Purdue	80
	2	Purdue	95
	15	Delaware	56

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Sunday, March 22

box score

#3 Stanford Cardinal 79, #8 Rhode Island 77
Pts: A. Lee 26 Rebs: T. Young 12 Asts: A. Lee 7		Pts: T. Wheeler 24 Rebs: A. Reynolds-Dean 10 Asts: T. Wheeler 5 Halftime Score: 38-38

Kiel Center – St. Louis Attendance: 22, 172 Referees: Frank Scagliotta, Mike Kitts, Larry Rose

Final Four @ San Antonio, Texas

	National Semifinals					National Championship Game
	E1	North Carolina	59
	W3	Utah	65
						W3	Utah	69
						S2	Kentucky	78
	S2	Kentucky	86*
	M3	Stanford	85

Game Summaries

CBS

Saturday, March 28

box score

#2 Kentucky Wildcats 86, #3 Stanford Cardinal 85 (OT)
Pts: J. Sheppard 27 Rebs: J.Sheppard, H. Evans, S. Padgett 6 Asts: J. Sheppard, W. Turner 4		Pts: A. Lee 26 Rebs: M. Madsen 16 Asts: A. Lee 5 Halftime Score: Stanford, 37-32 After Regulation: 73-73

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 40,509 Referees: Tim Higgins, Bob Donato, Larry Rose

CBS

Saturday, March, 28

box score

#3 Utah Utes 65, #2 North Carolina Tar Heels 59
Pts: M. Doleac, A. Miller 16 Rebs: A. Miller 14 Asts: A. Miller 7		Pts: V. Carter 21 Rebs: A. Jamison 12 Asts: E. Cota 7 Halftime Score: Utah, 35-22

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 40,509 Referees: John Clougherty, Andre Pattillo, Don Rutledge

National Championship

CBS

Monday, March 30

Box score

#2 Kentucky Wildcats 78, #3 Utah Utes 69
Pts: S. Padgett 17 Rebs: H. Evans 6 Asts: A. Edwards 5		Pts: A. Miller 16 Rebs: M. Doleac 10 Asts: A. Miller 5 Halftime Score: Utah, 41-31

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 40,509 Referees: Jim Burr, Donnie Gray, Mike Sanzere

Announcers

• Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – First & Second Round at Atlanta; South Regional at St. Petersburg, Florida; Final Four at San Antonio, Texas
• Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery – First & Second Round at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Greensboro, North Carolina
• Gus Johnson and Jon Sundvold – First & Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut; West Regional at Anaheim, California
• Tim Brando and Al McGuire – First & Second Round at Lexington, Kentucky; Midwest Regional at St. Louis
• Ted Robinson and Rolando Blackman – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City
• Jim Durham and Greg Kelser – First & Second Round at Boise, Idaho
• Tim Ryan and Dan Bonner – First & Second Round at Chicago
• Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – First & Second Round at Sacramento, California

References

1. "NCAA honors all-time greats as part of 75 years of March Madness celebration". NCAA. December 11, 2012.