1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball
1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball
SEC West Division champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 13
Record	22–7 (12–4 SEC)
Head coach	Rob Evans (6th season);
Home arena	Tad Smith Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
No. 5 Kentucky †	14	–	2	.875	35	–	4	.897
No. 14 South Carolina	11	–	5	.688	23	–	8	.742
Tennessee	9	–	7	.563	20	–	9	.690
Georgia	7	–	9	.438	20	–	15	.571
Vanderbilt	7	–	9	.438	20	–	13	.606
Florida	6	–	10	.375	14	–	15	.483
West
No. 13 Ole Miss	12	–	4	.750	22	–	7	.759
No. 17 Arkansas	11	–	5	.688	24	–	9	.727
Auburn	7	–	9	.438	16	–	14	.533
Alabama	6	–	10	.375	15	–	16	.484
Mississippi State	4	–	12	.250	15	–	15	.500
LSU	2	–	14	.125	9	–	18	.333

† 1998 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rebels were led by sixth-year head coach, Rob Evans. The Rebels played their home games at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. This season marked the third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

The Rebels were SEC West champions and ranked No. 13 in the country by the Associated Press at the time of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Seeded fourth, Ole Miss' tournament run memorably ended in the first round, 70–69, at the hands of 13-seed Valparaiso. The Rebels were on the receiving end of "The Shot", one of the NCAA tournament's greatest moments.

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 19, 1997*	No. 21	Louisiana Tech	W 88–56	1–0	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
November 22, 1997*	No. 21	No. 18 Temple	W 87–74	2–0	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
November 24, 1997*	No. 21	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 81–36	3–0	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
December 5, 1997*	No. 14	vs. LIU Brooklyn	W 102–99	4–0	Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
December 6, 1997*	No. 14	at Ball State	L 66–70	4–1	Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
December 13, 1997*	No. 21	at Wichita State	W 71–48	5–1	Levitt Arena Wichita, KS
December 17, 1997*	No. 18	Belmont	W 100–59	6–1	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
December 20, 1997*	No. 18	Prairie View A&M	W 106–59	7–1	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
December 22, 1997*	No. 18	at Louisville	W 74–70	8–1	Freedom Hall Louisville, KY
December 30, 1997*	No. 16	Northwestern State	W 99–52	9–1	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
SEC regular season
January 3, 1998	No. 16	No. 11 South Carolina	W 73–54	10–1 (1–0)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
January 7, 1998	No. 14	Florida	W 90–79	11–1 (2–0)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
January 10, 1998	No. 14	at Alabama	W 74–63	12–1 (3–0)	Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL
January 17, 1998	No. 11	at Tennessee	L 67–77	12–2 (3–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 21, 1998	No. 13	LSU	W 80–58	13–2 (4–1)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
January 24, 1998	No. 13	Mississippi State	W 81–77	14–2 (5–1)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
January 28, 1998	No. 12	at Georgia	L 68–70	14–3 (5–2)	Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
January 31, 1998	No. 12	at Auburn	L 67–68	14–4 (5–3)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
February 5, 1998	No. 17	at No. 14 Arkansas	L 87–100	14–5 (5–4)	Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR
February 7, 1998	No. 17	Alabama	W 75–74	15–5 (6–4)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
February 11, 1998	No. 18	Vanderbilt	W 87–76	16–5 (7–4)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
February 14, 1998	No. 18	at No. 7 Kentucky	W 73–64	17–5 (8–4)	Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 18, 1998	No. 15	at LSU	W 83–57	18–5 (9–4)	Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA
February 21, 1998	No. 15	at Mississippi State	W 82–78	19–5 (10–4)	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 25, 1998	No. 13	No. 12 Arkansas	W 81–65	20–5 (11–4)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
February 28, 1998	No. 13	Auburn	W 74–67	21–5 (12–4)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
SEC tournament
March 6, 1998	(1 W) No. 10	vs. (5 E) Georgia Quarterfinals	W 72–67	22–5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
March 7, 1998	(1 W) No. 10	vs. (2 E) No. 15 South Carolina Semifinals	L 77–87	22–6	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
NCAA tournament
March 13, 1998* CBS	(4 MW) No. 13	vs. (13 MW) Valparaiso First round	L 69–70^[2]	22–7	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.