1997–98 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain
Ranking
CoachesNo. 21
APNo. 18
Record24–8 (11–3 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaUniversity Arena
1997–98 WAC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Mountain
No. 7 Utah122 .857304  .882
No. 18 New Mexico113 .786248  .750
Wyoming95 .643199  .679
Colorado State86 .571209  .690
UNLV77 .5002013  .606
BYU410 .286921  .300
UTEP311 .2141214  .462
Air Force212 .1431016  .385
Pacific
No. 15 TCU140 1.000276  .818
Fresno State104 .7142113  .618
Tulsa95 .6431912  .613
Hawaii86 .571219  .700
SMU68 .4291810  .643
San Diego State59 .3571315  .464
Rice311 .214622  .214
San Jose State113 .071323  .115
1998 WAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1997–98 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were coached by head coach Dave Bliss and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico finished 2nd in the WAC Mountain division regular season standings and lost to UNLV in the WAC Tournament championship game. The Lobos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the South region. After defeating Butler in the opening round,[2] New Mexico was bounced in the round of 32 by Syracuse, 56–46,[3] to finish with a 24–8 record (11–3 WAC).

Roster

1997–98 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 3 Lamont Long 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So
F 4 Kenny Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) Jr Albuquerque, New Mexico
F 22 Clayton Shields 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) Sr Baytown, Texas
G 32 David Gibson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

    [4]

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Nov 11, 1997*
    No. 11 USC W 98–76  1–0
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Nov 19, 1997*
    No. 11 New Mexico State W 80–79  2–0
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Nov 21, 1997*
    Texas Southern W 90–67  3–0
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Nov 22, 1997*
    Arkansas State W 61–51  4–0
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Nov 29, 1997*
    San Jose State W 86–57  5–0
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Dec 6, 1997*
    No. 8 vs. No. 15 UCLA
    Wooden Classic
    L 58–69  5–1
    Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 
    Anaheim, California
    Dec 9, 1997*
    at New Mexico State W 62–59  6–1
    Pan American Center 
    Las Cruces, New Mexico
    Dec 20, 1997*
    Texas Tech W 81–62  7–1
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Dec 29, 1997*
    Holy Cross W 112–61  8–1
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Dec 30, 1997*
    Yale W 69–44  9–1
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Jan 3, 1998*
    Air Force W 92–59  10–1
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Jan 5, 1998*
    TCU W 98–77  11–1
    University Arena 
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    WAC tournament
    Mar 5, 1998*
    vs. Tulsa
    Quarterfinals
    W 60–59  22–6
    Thomas & Mack Center 
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Mar 6, 1998*
    vs. No. 13 TCU
    Semifinals
    W 80–73  23–6
    Thomas & Mack Center 
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Mar 7, 1998*
    at UNLV
    Championship game
    L 51–56  23–7
    Thomas & Mack Center 
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 13, 1998*
    (4 S) No. 18 vs. (13 S) Butler
    First Round
    W 79–62[2]  24–7
    Rupp Arena 
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Mar 15, 1998*
    (4 S) No. 18 vs. (5 S) No. 21 Syracuse
    Second Round
    L 46–56[3]  24–8
    Rupp Arena 
    Lexington, Kentucky
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    S=South.

    [5]

    Rankings

    [6]

    References

    1. sports-reference.com 1997-98 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
    2. 1 2 "New Mexico Center Overwhelms Butler". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
    3. 1 2 "Syracuse Does Everything but Shoot Well in Victory". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
    4. "1997–98 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
    5. "1997–98 New Mexico Men's Basketball Schedule". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
      • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1064–1065. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
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