#ThrowbackThursday: 1997-98 Pac-10 Champions
07/09/2020 | Men's Basketball
TUCSON, Ariz. – The eighth installment of our #ThrowbackThursday series takes a look at the 1997-98 team that went 17-1 in Pac-10 play and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the eighth conference championship under head coach Lute Olson.
After opening the season with a rout of Morgan State, Arizona traveled to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and came away with a runner-up finish after wins over Boston College and Kentucky and a loss to Duke in the title game. Other marquee non-conference games included a loss to Kansas in Chicago, wins at Texas and Baylor, a tough loss at Florida State and 38-point home win against Kansas State.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Cats cruised to wins over Nicholls State (99-60) and Illinois State (82-49) in the first weekend. In the West Regional at Anaheim, following a 87-79 win over Maryland, Utah ended Arizona's season by handing them a 76-51 loss.
Below is a look at the roster, season results and more from that team.
1997-98 Arizona Basketball Roster
1997-98 Season Results
Notes
After opening the season with a rout of Morgan State, Arizona traveled to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and came away with a runner-up finish after wins over Boston College and Kentucky and a loss to Duke in the title game. Other marquee non-conference games included a loss to Kansas in Chicago, wins at Texas and Baylor, a tough loss at Florida State and 38-point home win against Kansas State.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Cats cruised to wins over Nicholls State (99-60) and Illinois State (82-49) in the first weekend. In the West Regional at Anaheim, following a 87-79 win over Maryland, Utah ended Arizona's season by handing them a 76-51 loss.
Below is a look at the roster, season results and more from that team.
1997-98 Arizona Basketball Roster
| # | Name | Year | Pos. | Ht. | PPG |
| 23 | Michael Dickerson | Sr. | F | 6-5 | 18.0 |
| 10 | Mike Bibby | So. | G | 6-2 | 17.2 |
| 34 | Miles Simon | Sr. | G | 6-5 | 17.2 |
| 31 | Jason Terry | Jr. | G | 6-1 | 10.6 |
| 42 | A.J. Bramlett | Jr. | C | 6-11 | 10.4 |
| 21 | Bennett Davison | Sr. | F | 6-8 | 7.6 |
| 33 | Eugene Edgerson | So. | F | 6-8 | 4.5 |
| 13 | Donnell Harris | Jr. | C | 6-11 | 3.3 |
| 24 | Quynn Tebbs | Fr. | G | 6-1 | 2.3 |
| 30 | Justin Wessel | Fr. | F | 6-8 | 1.2 |
| 14 | Ortege Jenkins | Fr. | G | 6-2 | 1.2 |
| 12 | Josh Pastner | So. | G | 5-11 | 0.5 |
| 52 | Jason Stewart | Jr. | G | 5-11 | 0.5 |
1997-98 Season Results
| Won 30, Lost 5 | |||
| Coach: Lute Olson | |||
| Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic Champions | |||
| Pacific-10 Conference Champions | |||
| NCAA Tournament Participants | |||
| N20 | Morgan State | W | 115-53 |
| N24 | Boston College (1) | W | 99-69 |
| N25 | Kentucky (1) | W | 89-74 |
| N26 | Duke (1) | L | 87-95 |
| N29 | UNC-Asheville | W | 97-69 |
| D2 | Kansas (2) | L | 87-90 |
| D6 | at Texas | W | 88-81 |
| D8 | at Baylor | W | 83-68 |
| D13 | Coppin State | W | 99-82 |
| D23 | at Florida State | L | 79-84 |
| D28 | James Madison (3) | W | 92-68 |
| D30 | Kansas State (3) | W | 125-87 |
| J3 | *UCLA | W | 87-75 |
| J5 | *USC | W | 91-72 |
| J8 | *at Washington State (4) | W | 94-81 |
| J10 | *at Washington | W | 110-91 |
| J15 | *Arizona State | W | 127-99 |
| J18 | New Mexico | W | 89-70 |
| J22 | *Oregon | W | 87-57 |
| J25 | *Oregon State | W | 93-80 |
| J29 | *at Stanford | W | 93-75 |
| J31 | *at California | W | 70-57 |
| F5 | *Washington | W | 112-81 |
| F7 | *Washington State | W | 83-61 |
| F14 | *at Arizona State | W | 83-82 |
| F19 | *at Oregon State | W | 71-70 |
| F21 | *at Oregon | W | 81-66 |
| F26 | *California | W | 76-73 |
| F28 | *Stanford | W | 90-58 |
| M5 | *at USC (ot) | L | 90-91 |
| M7 | *at UCLA | W | 91-87 |
| M12 | Nicholls State (5) | W | 99-60 |
| M14 | Illinois State (5) | W | 82-49 |
| M19 | Maryland (6) | W | 87-79 |
| M21 | Utah (6) | L | 51-76 |
| * Pacific-10 Conference game (17-1, 1st) | |||
| (1) at Maui Invitational, Lahaina, Hawaii | |||
| (2) at Great Eight, Chicago, Ill. | |||
| (3) at Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic, Tucson, Ariz. | |||
| (4) at Spokane, Wash. | |||
| (5) at NCAA Tournament, Sacramento, Calif. | |||
| (6) at NCAA West Regional, Anaheim, Calif. | |||
Notes
- Sophomore guard Mike Bibby was a consensus All-American, a member of the All-West Regional team of the NCAA Tournament and the Pac-10 Player of the Year.
- Bibby averaged 17.2 points while shooting 38.7 percent from the 3-point line and handing out 5.7 assists per contest. He also led the team with 2.4 steals per game.
- Joining Bibby in receiving all-conference and All-American awards were Michael Dickerson and Miles Simon.
- Dickerson, who led the 'Cats in scoring (18.0), was a third team All-American by the Associated Press
- Simon was a first team All-American according to the Associated Press, The Sporting News and the NABC after averaging 17.2 points
- It marked the only time in school history that three players on the same team scored at least 600 points in a season (Dickerson – 630; Bibby – 603; Simon – 601)
- Jason Terry scored 10.6 points, handed out 4.3 assists and came away with 1.7 steals per game in his junior season.
- The fifth Wildcat to average double figures in scoring was A.J. Bramlett, who posted 10.4 points and team leading 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor.
- Arizona outscored its opponents by 16.2 points per game and shot 48.8 percent as a team while holding opponents to just 35.2 percent.
- The 677 assists as a team on the year is still a school record.
- The 90.8 points per game scoring average as a team still stands as the school record for a season.
- On Jan. 15, 1998, Arizona defeated ASU by a score of 127-99, the second-most combined points scored in a game in school history.
Thursday, August 13
Wednesday, August 12
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11
