1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1997–98 Ole Miss Rebels Basketball Ole Miss Rebels logo.svg Southeastern Conference SEC 20 13 22–7 12–4 Rob Evans 6th Tad Smith Coliseum SEC West Division champions NCAA tournament first round 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's tournament run 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.Valparaiso Crusaders, NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBS SportsLine.com http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9997748 https://web.archive.org/web/20070217043030/http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9997748 2007-02-17 2026-04-02 www.sportsline.com Schedule and results no |- |- !colspan=6 style=Ole Miss Rebels|Non-conference regular season November 19, 1997 yes 21 Louisiana Tech Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 88–56 1–0 November 22, 1997 yes 21 Temple 18 Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 87–74 2–0 November 24, 1997 yes 21 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 81–36 3–0 December 5, 1997 yes yes 14 LIU Brooklyn Worthen Arena Muncie, IN 102–99 4–0 December 6, 1997 yes yes 14 Ball State Worthen Arena Muncie, IN 66–70 4–1 December 13, 1997 yes yes 21 Wichita State Levitt Arena Wichita, KS 71–48 5–1 December 17, 1997 yes 18 Belmont Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 100–59 6–1 December 20, 1997 yes 18 Prairie View A&M Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 106–59 7–1 December 22, 1997 yes yes 18 Louisville Freedom Hall Louisville, KY 74–70 8–1 December 30, 1997 yes 16 Northwestern State Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 99–52 9–1 |- !colspan=6 style=Ole Miss Rebels|SEC regular season January 3, 1998 16 South Carolina 11 Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 73–54 10–1 1–0 January 7, 1998 14 Florida Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 90–79 11–1 2–0 January 10, 1998 yes 14 Alabama Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL 74–63 12–1 3–0 January 17, 1998 yes 11 Tennessee Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN 67–77 12–2 3–1 January 21, 1998 13 LSU Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 80–58 13–2 4–1 January 24, 1998 13 Mississippi State Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 81–77 14–2 5–1 January 28, 1998 yes 12 Georgia Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA 68–70 14–3 5–2 January 31, 1998 yes 12 Auburn Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL 67–68 14–4 5–3 February 5, 1998 yes 17 Arkansas 14 Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR 87–100 14–5 5–4 February 7, 1998 17 Alabama Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 75–74 15–5 6–4 February 11, 1998 18 Vanderbilt Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 87–76 16–5 7–4 February 14, 1998 11:30 a.m. JP SportsJefferson Pilot Sports Southeastern Conference Basketball – 1998 Television Schedule http://jpsports.com/sec_sch.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19980216153759/http://jpsports.com/sec_sch.htm February 16, 1998 Jefferson Pilot Sports September 28, 2023 yes 18 Kentucky 7 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY 73–64 17–5 8–4 February 18, 1998 yes 15 LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 83–57 18–5 9–4 February 21, 1998 yes 15 Mississippi State Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS 82–78 19–5 10–4 February 25, 1998 13 Arkansas 12 Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 81–65 20–5 11–4 February 28, 1998 13 Auburn Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 74–67 21–5 12–4 |- !colspan=12 style=Ole Miss Rebels| SEC tournament March 6, 1998 yes 10 1 W Georgia 5 E Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA JP Sports Quarterfinals 72–67 22–5 March 7, 1998 JP Sports yes 10 1 W South Carolina 2 E 15 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA Semifinals 77–87 22–6 |- !colspan=12 style=Ole Miss Rebels| NCAA tournament March 13, 1998 yes yes 13 4 MW Valparaiso 13 MW Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, OK First round CBS 69–70Valparaiso's 'Miracle Shot' Stuns Ole Miss https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/14/valparaisos-miracle-shot-stuns-ole-miss/465212c1-dc80-4c52-aa65-afc34a29e7f3/ The Washington Post March 14, 1998 June 21, 2021 22–7 AP Poll Central Time Source: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/mississippi/1998-schedule.html 1997-98 Ole Miss Rebels Schedule and Results Rankings 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 17 23 21 17 14 21 18 16 16 14 11 13 12 17 18 15 13 10 13 Coaches 0 18 NR NR^ 18 14 19 18 16 17 14 11 14 12 16 16 14 13 10 14 20 *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll Awards and honors Ansu Sesay – SEC Player of the Year, Consensus Second-Team All-American 1998 NBA draft 1998 NBA draft Ole Miss Rebels Round Pick Player NBA Team 2 30 Ansu Sesay Dallas Mavericks https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1998.html 1998 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com June 21, 2021 References Ole Miss Category:Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball seasons Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball Ole Miss