1997–98 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 1997–98 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1979-1998.png 250px November 14, 1997through March 7, 1998 13 ESPN Regular Season Connecticut (Big East 6, 15–3) Syracuse (Big East 7, 12–6) Champion Richard Hamilton – Connecticut Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 1998 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Connecticut Khalid El-Amin – Connecticut Most Valuable Player Basketball 1996–97 1998–99 The 1997–98 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 19th in conference history, and involved its 13 full-time member schools. Connecticut was the regular-season champion of the Big East 6 Division with a record of 15–3, and Syracuse won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of 12–6. Connecticut won the Big East tournament championship. Season summary & highlights For the last time, the Big East used the divisional structure which had debuted in the 1995–96 season, with six of its teams playing in the Big East 6 Division and seven in the Big East 7 Division. The conference returned to a unitary structure the following season. Connecticut was the regular-season champion of the Big East 6 Division with a record of 15–3. It was Connecticut's fifth regular-season championship or co-championship and second divisional title. Syracuse won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of 12–7. It was Syracuse's sixth regular-season championship or co-championship and first divisional title. Connecticut won its third Big East tournament championship. Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 1st Connecticut Jim Calhoun 12th Big East Coach of the Year (4th award) Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 26th Miami Leonard Hamilton 8th Notre Dame John MacLeod 7th Pittsburgh Ralph Willard 4th Providence Pete Gillen 4th Resigned March 27, 1998 Rutgers Kevin Bannon 1st St. John's Fran Fraschilla 2nd Fired May 13, 1998 Seton Hall Tommy Amaker 1st Syracuse Jim Boeheim 22nd Villanova Steve Lappas 6th West Virginia Gale Catlett 20th Rankings Connecticut was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, finishing at No. 6. West Virginia and Syracuse also spent time in the Top 25, with Syracuse ending the season ranked No. 21. + 1997–98 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1998.html 1997-98 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 12, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/17 11/24 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29 1/5 1/12 1/19 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/2 FinalBoston College Connecticut 12 12 11 13 13 12 11 10 8 10 8 9 7 6 7 6 6 6 Georgetown Miami Notre Dame Pittsburgh Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 25 19 19 18 15 15 20 19 23 21 23 22 21 Villanova West Virginia 23 22 25 21 23 17 15 16 20 19 23 Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Pat Garrity ND 23.2 Richard Hamilton Conn 21.5 Vonteego Cummings Pitt 19.5 Jamel Thomas Prov 18.5 Antonio Granger BC 17.9 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Tim James Mia 9.4 Isaac Hawkins Pitt 9.2 Zendon Hamilton SJU 8.7 Pat Garrity ND 8.3 Ryan Blackwell Syr 8.2 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Shaheen Holloway SHU 6.5 Vonteego Cummings Pitt 5.9 Martin Ingelsby ND 5.6 John Celestand Vill 5.1 Duane Woodward BC 5.1 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG Damian Owens WVU 3.0 Vonteego Cummings Pitt 2.5 Kevin Norris Mia 2.4 Jarrod West WVU 2.3 Shernard Long GU 2.3 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Etan Thomas Syr 3.9 Attila Cosby Pitt 2.0 Isaac Hawkins Pitt 1.7 Tim James Mia 1.6 Malik Allen Vill 1.4 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Kostas Maglos BC .591 Isaac Hawkins Pitt .541 Damian Owens WVU .506 Tim James Mia .485 Pat Garrity ND .481 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Richard Hamilton Conn .404 Geoff Billet RU .390 Antonio Granger BC .390 Levell Sanders SHU .354(no other qualifiers) 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Richard Hamilton Conn .843 Levell Sanders SHU .835 Rob Hodgson RU .835 Lavor Postell SJU .826 Geoff Billet RU .826 end Postseason Big East tournament 1998 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding The division winner with the best record received the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, the division winner with the second-best record received the No. 2 seed, and the second-place finisher with the best record received the No. 3 seed. The rest of the schools were seeded fourth through thirteenth based on conference record and tiebreakers. 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) Syracuse, (3) St. John's, (4) Miami, (5) West Virginia, (6) Seton Hall, (7) Villanova, (8) Providence, (9) Notre Dame, (10) Pittsburgh, (11) Boston College, (12) Rutgers, (13) Georgetown. 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 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Miami and St. John's lost in the first round and Syracuse and West Virginia in the regional semifinals. Connecticut was defeated in the East Region final. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Connecticut East 2 15 Fairleigh Dickinson, W 93–85 7 Indiana, W 78–68 11 Washington, W 75–74 1 North Carolina, L 75–64 Syracuse South 5 12 Iona, W 63–61 4 New Mexico, W 56–46 1 Duke, L 80–67 West Virginia West 10 7 Temple, W 82–52 2 Cincinnati, W 75–74 3 Utah, L 65–62 St. John's Midwest 7 10 Detroit, L 66–64 Miami South 11 6 UCLA, L 65–62 National Invitation Tournament 1998 National Invitation Tournament Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in the same unnamed bracket and both lost to Georgia Tech, Seton Hall in the first round and Georgetown in the second. School Round 1 Round 2 Georgetown Florida, W 71–69 Georgia Tech, L 80–79 Seton Hall Georgia Tech, L 88–70 Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G, So. Defensive Player of the Year: Damian Owens, West Virginia, F, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr. Most Improved Player: Etan Thomas, Syracuse, C, So. Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Notre Dame (12th season) All-Big East First Team Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G, So., 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Coatesville, Pa. Tim James, Miami, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 212 lb 0, Miami, Fla. Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 238 lb 0, Las Vegas, Nev. Felipe López, St. John's, G, Sr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 199 lb 0, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Damian Owens, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Seat Pleasant, Md. All-Big East Second Team: Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Thomson, Ga. Jamel Thomas, Providence, F, Jr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Levell Sanders, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 207 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Zendon Hamilton, St. John's, C, Sr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, South Floral Park, N.Y. Todd Burgan, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 21 lb 0, Detroit, Mich. All-Big East Third Team: Antonio Granger, Boston College, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Detroit, Mich. Duane Woodward, Boston College, G, Sr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 209 lb 0, New York, N.Y. Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Minneapolis, Minn. Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall, G, So., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 173 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. Etan Thomas, Syracuse, C, So., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, New York, N.Y. Big East All-Rookie Team: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut, G, Fr., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin Ingelsby, Notre Dame, G, Fr., 6 ft 0 in cm 0, 182 lb 0, Philadelphia, Pa. Ricardo Greer, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, New York, N.Y. Jeff Greer, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, The Bronx, N.Y. Metta World Peace, St. John's, F, Fr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 244 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1998 Associated Press All-America teams. 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Consensus All-America Second Team: Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48.1 FG%, 37.0 3P%, 627 points Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 44.0 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 795 points Second Team All-America: Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48.1 FG%, 37.0 3P%, 627 points Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 44.0 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 795 points AP Honorable Mention Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut See also 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1997–98 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1997–98 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1997–98 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team 1997–98 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 1997–98 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 1997–98 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team 1997–98 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team References