1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs basketball team

The 1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball team represented Texas Christian University as a member of the Southwestern Conference during the 1997–98 men's college basketball season. Led by head coach Billy Tubbs, TCU swept through the WAC regular season schedule to earn the regular season title and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 5 seed in the Midwest region. The Horned Frogs were upset in the opening round by No. 12 seed Florida State, 96–87.[2] The team finished with a record of 27–6 (14–0 WAC).

1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball
WAC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionPacific
Ranking
CoachesNo. 25
APNo. 15
Record27–6 (14–0 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaDaniel-Meyer Coliseum
Seasons
1997–98 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Mountain
No. 7 Utah 12 2   .857 30 4   .882
No. 18 New Mexico 11 3   .786 24 8   .750
Wyoming 9 5   .643 19 9   .679
Colorado State 8 6   .571 20 9   .690
UNLV 7 7   .500 20 13   .606
BYU 4 10   .286 9 21   .300
UTEP 3 11   .214 12 14   .462
Air Force 2 12   .143 10 16   .385
Pacific
No. 15 TCU 14 0   1.000 27 6   .818
Fresno State 10 4   .714 21 13   .618
Tulsa 9 5   .643 19 12   .613
Hawaii 8 6   .571 21 9   .700
SMU 6 8   .429 18 10   .643
San Diego State 5 9   .357 13 15   .464
Rice 3 11   .214 6 22   .214
San Jose State 1 13   .071 3 23   .115
1998 WAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

This high-scoring TCU team posted more than 100 points in seven straight games early in the season (peaking with 153 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley), exceeded the century mark 14 times on the season in all, and scored 99 points twice more.

Junior forward Lee Nailon established school records for scoring in a single game (53; three games after senior Mike Jones became the first TCU player to score 50 in a game) and season single season (796). He was also named co-Player of the Year in the WAC. Jones and fellow senior Malcolm Johnson finished 1–2 on the single season and career steals lists, while senior James Penny ended his career as the school's all-time leader in blocks (all of which have since been surpassed).

Roster

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1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 54 Lee Nailon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr South Bend, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 16, 1997*
SW Missouri State W 78–67  1–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Nov 22, 1997*
Long Island W 105–95  2–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Nov 25, 1997*
at Texas Tech W 107–76  3–0
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, Texas
Nov 29, 1997*
Texas-Rio Grande Valley W 153–87  4–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 3, 1997*
Delaware State W 138–75  5–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 6, 1997*
Morgan State W 133–74  6–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 9, 1997*
North Texas W 113–74  7–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 12, 1997*
Mississippi Valley State W 106–83  8–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 13, 1997*
Baylor W 99–75  9–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 20, 1997*
No. 24 vs. No. 2 Kansas
Sprint Shootout
L 78–94  9–1
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 24, 1997*
No. 25 vs. Iowa State
Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
W 93–54  10–1
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez 
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Dec 25, 1997*
No. 25 vs. No. 19 Syracuse
Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
L 78–82  10–2
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez 
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Dec 26, 1997*
No. 25 at American-Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
W 105–93 OT 11–2
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez 
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Dec 30, 1997*
Oklahoma State L 81–82  11–3
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 5, 1998*
at No. 12 New Mexico L 77–98  11–4
University Arena 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 8, 1998
Fresno State W 91–76  12–4
(1–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 10, 1998
San Jose State W 104–65  13–4
(2–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 17, 1998
at San Diego State W 105–61  14–4
(3–0)
Viejas Arena 
San Diego, California
Jan 19, 1998
at No. 24 Hawaii W 83–76  15–4
(4–0)
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 26, 1998
SMU W 100–82  16–4
(5–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 29, 1998
Rice W 97–67  17–4
(6–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 1, 1998
Tulsa W 102–100 OT 18–4
(7–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 5, 1998
at Fresno State W 99–91  19–4
(8–0)
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Feb 7, 1998
at San Jose State W 119–84  20–4
(9–0)
The Event Center 
San Jose, California
Feb 12, 1998
No. 22 Hawaii W 126–84  21–4
(10–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 14, 1998*
No. 22 San Diego State W 91–69  22–4
(11–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 16, 1998
No. 19 at SMU W 79–70  23–4
(12–0)
Moody Coliseum 
Dallas, Texas
Feb 21, 1998*
No. 19 No. 11 New Mexico W 95–64  24–4
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 26, 1998
No. 15 at Tulsa W 57–54  25–4
(13–0)
Tulsa Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 28, 1998
No. 15 at Rice W 86–73  26–4
(14–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
WAC tournament
Mar 5, 1998*
No. 13 vs. SMU
Quarterfinals
W 71–69  27–4
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 6, 1998*
No. 13 vs. No. 20 New Mexico
Semifinals
L 73–80  27–5
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1998*
(5 MW) No. 15 vs. (12 MW) Florida State
First Round
L 87–96[2]  27–6
Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

[3][4]

Rankings

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[5]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ a b "Florida State Proves That It Belongs". The New York Times. March 15, 1987. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "1997–98 TCU Horned Frogs Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "2021-22 TCU Men's Basketball Fact Book" (PDF). TCU Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1064–1065. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.