1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball
MAC West Division Co-Champions
NCAA Tournament, second round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	21–8 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Donewald
Home arena	University Arena

1997–98 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Akron	13	–	5		.722			17	–	10		.630
Kent State	9	–	9		.500			13	–	17		.433
Miami	9	–	9		.500			17	–	12		.586
Marshall	7	–	11		.389			11	–	16		.407
Bowling Green	7	–	11		.389			10	–	16		.385
Ohio	3	–	15		.167			5	–	21		.192
West
Ball State	14	–	4		.778			21	–	8		.724
Western Michigan	14	–	4		.778			21	–	8		.724
Eastern Michigan †	13	–	5		.722			20	–	10		.667
Toledo	10	–	8		.556			15	–	12		.556
Northern Illinois	6	–	12		.333			10	–	16		.385
Central Michigan	3	–	15		.167			5	–	21		.192
† 1998 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball team that played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, 21–8 overall and 12–4 in the conference, shared a piece of the MAC West Division title and earned an at-large bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

As an 11-seed, WMU upset six-seeded Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual Final Four team Stanford in the second round.

Preseason

MAC West preseason poll
School	Points
Eastern Michigan (47)	311
Toledo (2)	223
Ball State (3)	219
Western Michigan (1)	167
Northern Illinois	134
Central Michigan	59
First place votes in parentheses.

The Broncos were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division and received one first-place vote. They won their two exhibition games, defeating Marathon Oil, 83–66 and the Ohio All-Stars, 93–71.

Season

WMU defeated Michigan 68–63 in the opening game of the season. Senior guard Saddi Washington scored 33 point on 10–22 shooting and the 12 point underdogs overcame an 11-point deficit with a 26–10 run to end the game.

Hoosier Classic

Western Michigan participated in the 1997 Hoosier Classic, the 16th-annual holiday tournament held at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Broncos played UNC Charlotte in the first game of the tournament, winning 81–65. In the championship game against Indiana, WMU held a 31–29 lead at the half before losing 70–63. Saddi Washington was named tournament MVP.

Conference tournament

Western Michigan finished the season tied with Ball State with the best conference record but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker and was given the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. In the first round of the tournament, WMU faced No. 7 seed Miami on their home court in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Miami upset the Broncos 67–63 but the notable event of the game was Miami coach Charlie Coles collapsing midway through the first half. The game was stopped while Coles was transported to a local hospital. Without Coles, the game resumed about two hours later.

NCAA tournament

Western Michigan received an at-large bid in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and were seeded No. 11. In the first round, they upset No. 6 Clemson 75–72. Their second round opponent, No. 3 Stanford defeated No. 14 College of Charleston in the first round. Stanford defeated WMU 83–65 to end the Broncos season.

Roster

The following table lists WMU's roster.

1997–98 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 10 Ryan Black 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Waukesha South H.S. G/F 32 Isaac Bullock 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr Whetstone H.S. G/F 35 Tony Collins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Richton P. (IL) Bloom Twp. F 23 Carlos Horton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — So Glenn Hills (PA) H.S. G/F 33 Shaun Jackson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr Norfolk (VA) Maury G 22 Josh Jansen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr Mount Pleasant H.S. G 20 Rashod Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr Rogers H.S. G 5 Kylo Jones 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr Orchard Lake St. Mary's H.S. G 4 Jason Kimbrough 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Sr de Porres H.S. C 50 Ryan Schultz 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) — Jr Coon Rapids H.S. F 34 Aaron Toothman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Granville H.S. F 44 Brad Van Timmeren 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So Allendale H.S. G/F 24 Saddi Washington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr Sexton H.S.	Head coach Bob Donewald Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 23, 2018

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 15, 1997* 7:30 pm, None		at Michigan	W 68–63	1–0	Crisler Arena (12,237) Ann Arbor, MI
November 25, 1997* 7:00 pm		Indiana State	W 74–58	2–0	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
November 29, 1997* 5:00 pm		at Wisconsin–Milwaukee	W 84–47	3–0	Milwaukee Arena () Milwaukee, WI
December 3, 1997* 7:00 pm		Chicago State	W 106–62	4–0	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
December 6, 1997* 2:00 pm		at Detroit	L 59–77	4–1	Calihan Hall () Detroit, MI
December 10, 1997 7:00 pm		Ball State	L 76–81	4–2 (0–1)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
December 22, 1997* 7:00 pm		Wright State	W 88–74	5–2	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
December 27, 1997* 9:00 pm		vs. UNC Charlotte Hoosier Classic	W 81–65	6–2	Market Square Arena (15,918) Indianapolis, IN
December 28, 1997* 7:00 pm		vs. Indiana Hoosier Classic	L 63–70	6–3	Market Square Arena (12,501) Indianapolis, IN
December 31, 1997 3:00 pm		at Northern Illinois	W 79–73	7–3 (1–1)	Chick Evans Field House () DeKalb, IL
January 3, 1998 2:00 pm		Bowling Green	W 81–75	8–3 (2–1)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
January 5, 1998 7:00 pm		Miami	W 63–47	9–3 (3–1)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
January 8, 1998 7:00 pm		at Kent State	L 63–65	9–4 (3–2)	Memorial Gym () Kent, OH
January 10, 1998 3:00 pm		at Akron	W 89–83 OT	10–4 (4–2)	Rhodes Arena () Akron, OH
January 17, 1998 2:00 pm		Central Michigan	W 81–63	11–4 (5–2)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
January 21, 1998 7:00 pm		Eastern Michigan	W 96–85	12–4 (6–2)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
January 24, 1998 7:00 pm		at Toledo	W 86–76	13–4 (7–2)	Savage Hall () Toledo, OH
January 29, 1998 7:00 pm		Akron	W 77–63	14–4 (8–2)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
January 31, 1998 2:00 pm		Kent State	W 88–53	15–4 (9–2)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
February 5, 1998 7:00 pm		at Marshall	L 63–78	15–5 (9–3)	Cam Henderson Center () Huntington, WV
February 7, 1998 3:00 pm		at Ohio	W 86–68	16–5 (10–3)	Convocation Center () Athens, OH
February 14, 1998 7:00 pm		at Central Michigan	W 87–68	17–5 (11–3)	Rose Arena () Mount Pleasant, MI
February 18, 1998 7:00 pm		Toledo	W 86–76	18–5 (12–3)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
February 21, 1998 7:00 pm		at Eastern Michigan	W 102–82	19–5 (13–3)	Bowen Field House () Ypsilanti, MI
February 23, 1998 7:00 pm		Northern Illinois	W 80–71	20–5 (14–3)	University Arena () Kalamazoo, MI
February 25, 1998 7:00 pm		Ball State	W 80–71	20–6 (14–4)	University Arena () Muncie, IN
MAC tournament
February 28, 1998* 2:00 pm	(2)	vs. (7) Miami MAC Tournament Quarterfinals	L 72–75	20–7	University Arena (4,293) Kalamazoo, MI
NCAA tournament
March 13, 1998* 12:00 pm, CBS	(11 MW)	vs. (6 MW) Clemson NCAA First Round	W 75–72	21–7	United Center () Chicago, IL
March 15, 1998* 2:00 pm, CBS	(11 MW)	vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Stanford NCAA Second Round	L 65–83	21–8	United Center () Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

External links

• Western Michigan University men's basketball media guide Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine