1998–99 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 1998–99 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1998-2005.png 250px November 10, 1998through March 6, 1999 13 ESPN Regular Season Connecticut 16–2) Champion Richard Hamilton – Connecticut Tim James – Miami Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 1999 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Connecticut Kevin Freeman – Connecticut Most Valuable Player Basketball 1997–98 1999–2000 The 1998–99 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 20th in conference history, and involved its 13 full-time member schools. Connecticut was the regular-season champion with a record of 16–2. Connecticut also won the Big East tournament championship. Season summary & highlights After using a two-division structure the three previous seasons, the Big East returned to a unitary structure this season. Connecticut was the regular-season champion with a record of 16–2. It was Connecticut's sixth regular-season championship or co-championship and third outright championship. Connecticut won its fourth Big East tournament championship. Connecticut made the first Final Four appearance in school history. Connecticut won its first national championship. Connecticut junior guard Richard Hamilton was both the top scorer and the Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 2nd Connecticut Jim Calhoun 13th Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 27th Resigned and retired January 8, 1999 Craig Esherick 1st Replaced Thompson January 8, 1999 Miami Leonard Hamilton 9th Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) Notre Dame John MacLeod 8th Resigned March 9, 1999 Pittsburgh Ralph Willard 5th Resigned March 3, 1999 Providence Tim Welsh 1st Rutgers Kevin Bannon 2nd St. John's Mike Jarvis 1st Seton Hall Tommy Amaker 2nd Syracuse Jim Boeheim 23rd Villanova Steve Lappas 7th West Virginia Gale Catlett 21st Rankings Connecticut was ranked No. 1 or No.2 in the Associated Press poll for most of the season, never ranking below No.4 and finishing at No. 3. St. John's and Syracuse were in the Top 25 for most of the season, and Miami and Pittsburgh also spent time in the Top 25. + 1998–99 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1999.html 1998-99 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 14, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/16 11/23 11/30 12/7 12/14 12/21 12/28 1/4 1/11 1/18 1/25 2/1 2/8 2/15 2/22 3/1 FinalBoston College Connecticut 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 3 3 Georgetown Miami 25 23 25 16 15 11 9 10 Notre Dame Pittsburgh 20 20 22 24 23 Providence Rutgers St. John's 23 25 18 15 14 12 10 11 8 9 9 11 10 8 10 9 Seton Hall Syracuse 20 22 19 12 13 21 22 22 20 18 20 17 16 18 21 24 Villanova West Virginia Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Jamel Thomas Prov 22.0 Richard Hamilton Conn 21.5 Troy Murphy ND 19.2 Tim James Mia 18.6 Johnny Hemsley Mia 17.8 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Troy Murphy ND 9.9 Isaac Hawkins Pitt 8.9 Tyrone Grant SJU 8.6 Tim James Mia 8.2 Marcus Goree WVU 7.9 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Vernon Jennings Mia 5.6 Shaheen Holloway SHU 5.0 Erick Barkley SJD 4.7 Kevin Braswell GU 4.5 Jarett Kearse WVU 4.4 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG John Linehan Pitt 3.5 Jason Hart Syr 3.1 Kellii Taylor Pitt 2.8 Elton Scott WVU 2.7 Kevin Braswell GU 2.7 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Etan Thomas Syr 4.0 Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje GU 2.9 Malik Allen Vill 2.2 Tim James Mia 2.2 Jameel Watkins GU 1.9 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Troy Murphy ND .538 Marcus Goree WVU .506 Bootsy Thornton SJU .500 Isaac Hawkins Pitt .482 Tim James Mia .477 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG%(no qualifiers) 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Rimas Kaukenas SHU .843 Richard Hamilton Conn .833 Geoff Billet RU .818 Dahntay Jones RU .814 John Celestand Vill .798 end Postseason Big East tournament 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding Seeding in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. Teams seeded fourth through thirteenth played a first-round game, and the other three teams received a bye into the second round. The tournament's seeding was as follows: (1) Connecticut, (2) Miami, (3) St. John's, (4) Syracuse, (5) Villanova, (6) Rutgers, (7) Providence, (8) Notre Dame, (9) Seton Hall, (10) Georgetown, (11) Pittsburgh, (12) West Virginia, (13) Boston College. Bracket First roundMarch 4, 1998 QuarterfinalsMarch 5, 1998 SemifinalsMarch 6, 1998 Championship GameMarch 7, 1998 8 1997-98 Providence Friars Providence College Providence 72 9 Notre Dame 55 5 #23 West Virginia 65 12 1997-98 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers University Rutgers 72 4 Miami 56 13 Georgetown 62 6 1997-98 Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall University Seton Hall 87 11 1997-98 Boston College Eagles Boston College Boston College 97OT 7 1997-98 Villanova Wildcats Villanova University Villanova 962OT 10 Pittsburgh 93 1 #6 Connecticut 64 8 Providence 55 12 Rutgers 61 13 Georgetown 60 3 St. John's 91 11 Boston College 80 2 #22 Syracuse 69 7 Villanova 66 1 #6 Connecticut 64 12 Rutgers 50 3 St. John's 67 2 #22 Syracuse 69OT 1 #6 Connecticut 69 2 #22 Syracuse 64 NCAA tournament 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse and Villanova lost in the first round, Miami in the second round, and St. John's in the regional finals. Connecticut won the national championship. Connecticut junior guard Richard Hamilton scored 145 points during the tournament and was both its top scorer and Most Outstanding Player. Ohio State, which defeated St. John's and lost to Connecticut, vacated 34 games, including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1998–99 season, due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=2362496 OSU gets probation 2006-03-10 ESPN.com 2017-06-05https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/friv/forfeits.cgi Forfeits and Vacated Games Sports-Reference.com April 30, 2024 School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 Final Connecticut East 1 16 UTSA, W 91–66 9 New Mexico, W 78–56 5 Iowa, W 78–68 10 Gonzaga, W 67–62 S4 Ohio State, W 64–58 E1 Duke, W 77–74 St. John's South 3 14 Samford, W 69–43 6 Indiana, W 86–61 2 Maryland, W 76–62 4 Ohio State, L 77–74 Miami East 2 15 Lafayette, W 75–54 10 Purdue, L 73–63 Syracuse South 8 9 Oklahoma State, L 69–61 Villanova Midwest 8 9 Ole Miss, L 72–70 National Invitation Tournament 1999 National Invitation Tournament Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in two of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Georgetown, Providence, and Seton Hall all lost in the first round and Rutgers in the second round. School Round 1 Round 2 Rutgers Hofstra, W 58–45 Clemson, L 78–68 Georgetown Princeton, L 54–47 Providence NC State, L 92–86 Seton Hall Old Dominion, L 75–56 Awards and honors Big East Conference Co-Players of the Year: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G Jr. Tim James, Miami, F Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Etan Thomas, Syracuse, C Jr. Rookie of the Year: Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, F, Fr. Most Improved Player: Johnny Hemsley, Miami, G Jr. Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton, Miami (9th season) All-Big East First Team Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G Jr., 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Coatesville, Pa. Johnny Hemsley, Miami, G Jr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 195 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Tim James, Miami, F Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 212 lb 0, Miami, Fla. Jamel Thomas, Providence, F Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Metta World Peace, St. John's, F, So., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 244 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. All-Big East Second Team: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, So., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Minneapolis, Minn. Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, F, Fr., 6 ft 11 in cm 0, 245 lb 0, Morristown, N.J. Bootsy Thornton, St. John's, G Jr., 6 ft 4 in cm 0, 195 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Etan Thomas, St. John's, G Jr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, New York, N.Y. Marcus Goree, West Virginia, F Jr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 255 lb 0, Dallas, Tex. All-Big East Third Team: Isaac Hawkins, Pittsburgh, F Jr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 210 lb 0, Baton Rouge, La. Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh, G Sr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Thomson, Ga. Rob Hodgson, Rutgers, F Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 225 lb 0, Mastic Beach, N.Y. Jason Hart, Syracuse, G Jr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Los Angeles, Calif. John Celestand, Syracuse, G Jr., 6 ft 4 in cm 0, 178 lb 0, Houston, Tex. Big East All-Rookie Team: Anthony Perry, Georgetown, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 186 lb 0, Jersey City, N.J. Kevin Braswell, Georgetown, G, Fr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, F, Fr., 6 ft 11 in cm 0, 245 lb 0, Morristown, N.J. Dahntay Jones, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 210 lb 0, Trenton, N.J. Erick Barkley, St. John's, G, Fr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 177 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1999 Associated Press All-America teams. 1999 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Consensus All-America First Team: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 44.3 FG%, 34.7 3P%, 732 points First Team All-America: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 44.3 FG%, 34.7 3P%, 732 points Third Team All-America: Tim James, Miami, Key Stats: 18.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.3 spg, 2.2 bpg, 47.7 FG%, 29.3 3P%, 557 points AP Honorable Mention Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut See also 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1998–99 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1998–99 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team 1998–99 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 1998–99 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1998–99 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 1998–99 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team 1998–99 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team References