1997–98 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

1997–98 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
A blue block M with maize-colored borders and the word Michigan across the middle.
Big Ten Tournament Champions (Vacated)
Conference Big Ten Conference
1997–98 record 0-8 (25-9 unadjusted) (0-5 Big Ten)
Head coach Brian Ellerbe (interim)
Assistant coach Brian Dutcher
Assistant coach Scott Trost
MVP Robert Traylor
Captain Travis Conlan
Captain Robert Traylor
Home arena Crisler Arena
1997–98 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#16 Michigan State 13 – 3   .813     22 – 8   .733
#22 Illinois 13 – 3   .813     23 – 10   .697
#11 Purdue 12 – 4   .750     28 – 8   .778
Iowa 9 – 7   .563     20 – 11   .645
Indiana 9 – 7   .563     20 – 12   .625
Penn State 8 – 8   .500     19 – 13   .594
Minnesota** 6 – 10   .375     15 – 15   .500
Northwestern 3 – 13   .188     10 – 17   .370
Wisconsin 3 – 13   .188     12 – 19   .387
Ohio State 1 – 15   .063     8 – 22   .267
#12 Michigan* † 0 – 5   .000     0 – 8   .000
† 1998 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 reg. season games inc. Big Ten Tourn. Champ.; 2 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program
**Minnesota: 5 NIT games vacated inc. NIT champ. vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan-(25-9)(11-5); Minnesota-(20-15)(6-10)

The 1997–98 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1997–98 season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference. Under the direction of head coach Brian Ellerbe, the team finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference.[1] The team emerged victorious in the inaugural 1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.[2] The team earned an invitation to the 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as a number three seed where it was eliminated in the second round.[3] The team was ranked for twelve of the eighteen weeks of Associated Press Top Twenty-Five Poll, starting the season unranked, peaking at number twelve where it ended the season,[4] and it also ended the season ranked twelve in the final USA Today/CNN Poll.[5] The team had a 4–3 December 13, 1997 against #1 Duke 81–73 at home, December 26, 1997 against #19 Syracuse 93–61 at the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, Eugene Guerra Sports Complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 1 against #16 Iowa 80–66 on the road, March 8 against #9 Purdue 76–67 at the 1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center.[6] The victory over Duke was one of only two victories over the number one ranked team in the country in the history of the school.[7]

Robert Traylor and Travis Conlan served as team co-captains, while Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock shared team MVP honors.[8] The team's leading scorers were Louis Bullock (580 points), Robert Traylor (552 points) and Jerod Ward (445 points). The leading rebounders were Traylor (347), Maceo Baston (227), and Jerod Ward (206).[9]

Bullock let the Big Ten Conference in three-point field goals made in conference games (51) and all games (93).[10] He also led the conference in three-point field goal percentage in conference games (48.1%) and free throw percentage in all games (91.1%).[10] The team led the Big Ten Conference in three-point field goals made in conference games (121) and three-point field goal percentage (40.1%).[11]

Maceo Baston ended his career with the current Michigan record for career field goal percentage, with a 62.72%, surpassing the 61.70% mark set by Loy Vaught in 1990.[12] On February 22, 1998 against Indiana, the team made 15 three-point field goals, establishing a new school single-game record that would last until December 13, 2008.[13] The team also broke the single-season three-point shot record of 203 set the prior year by making 260, which was a record that would last until 2009.[13]

In the 1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center from March 5–8, Michigan was seeded fourth and earned a first round bye. In the second round, they defeated number five Iowa 77–66. In the semifinals, they defeated number eight Minnesota 85–69. In the championship game, they defeated number three Purdue 76–67.[14]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final 
AP Poll[4] 21 18 17 19 16 19 18 21 22 21 17 12

Team players drafted into the NBA

Three players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft.[15][16]

Year Round Pick Overall Player NBA Club
1998 1 6 6 Robert Traylor Dallas Mavericks
1998 2 29 58 Maceo Baston Chicago Bulls
1999 2 13 42 Louis Bullock Minnesota Timberwolves

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 69. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  2. ↑ "Big Ten Tournament". CBS Interactive. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Tournament History". University of Michigan. 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  5. ↑ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 88. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  6. ↑ "Through The Years". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 47. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  7. ↑ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 63–66. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  8. ↑ "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  9. ↑ "Men's Basketball Statistic Archive Query Page". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 34. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  11. ↑ "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 37. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  12. ↑ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 10. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 12. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  14. ↑ "Big Ten Tournament". CBS Interactive. p. 3. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
  15. ↑ "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  16. ↑ "1999 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.