1997–98 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team

1997–98 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
1997–98 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	19–10 (15–1 Southland)
Head coach	Rickey Broussard (8th season);
Home arena	Stopher Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by eighth-year head coach Rickey Broussard, played their home games at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. After running off 14 straight wins to begin conference play, the Colonels finished atop the conference regular season standings with a 15–1 record in Southland play. They followed that by winning the Southland tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 16 seed in the West region, Nicholls State lost to No. 1 seed and defending National champion Arizona.^[2]

1997–98 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Nicholls State †	15	–	1	.938	19	–	10	.655
Texas State	10	–	6	.625	17	–	11	.607
UTSA	10	–	6	.625	16	–	11	.593
Northwestern State	10	–	6	.625	13	–	14	.481
Louisiana-Monroe	8	–	8	.500	13	–	16	.448
Texas-Arlington	8	–	8	.500	13	–	16	.448
Sam Houston State	7	–	9	.438	9	–	17	.346
Stephen F. Austin	6	–	10	.375	10	–	16	.385
McNeese State	4	–	12	.250	7	–	19	.269
Southeastern Louisiana	2	–	14	.125	6	–	20	.231

† 1998 Southland tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Roster

1997–98 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year
G	5	Russell McCutcheon	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr
F		Kenderick Franklin	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr
F		Jason McCutcheon	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Jr

Head coach

Rickey Broussard

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Source:^[3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 15, 1997*		at Florida	L 63–66	0–1	Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
Nov 17, 1997*		at Auburn	L 75–96	0–2	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (2,250) Auburn, Alabama
Nov 19, 1997*		at Tulane	L 66–67	0–3	Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
Nov 29, 1997*		at LSU	L 52–72	0–4	Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 10, 1997*		at Rice	W 72–64	1–4	Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 13, 1997*		at Lamar	L 65–73	1–5	Montagne Center Beaumont, Texas
Dec 20, 1997*		Loyola (New Orleans)	W 86–69	2–5	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Dec 22, 1997*		at South Florida	L 78–91	2–6	Sun Dome Tampa, Florida
Dec 27, 1997*		vs. Wyoming	L 69–84	2–7	Casper Events Center Casper, Wyoming
Dec 28, 1997*		vs. Austin Peay	L 57–71	2–8	Casper Events Center Casper, Wyoming
Southland regular season
Jan 3, 1998		at McNeese State	W 79–73	3–8 (1–0)	Burton Coliseum Lake Charles, Louisiana
Jan 5, 1998		at Sam Houston State	W 68–66	4–8 (2–0)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, Texas
Jan 10, 1998		Southeastern Louisiana	W 95–81	5–8 (3–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Jan 15, 1998		Texas State	W 74–56	6–8 (4–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Jan 17, 1998		UTSA	W 82–78	7–8 (5–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Jan 22, 1998		at Stephen F. Austin	W 87–66	8–8 (6–0)	William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas
Jan 24, 1998		at Texas–Arlington	W 102–95	9–8 (7–0)	Texas Hall Arlington, Texas
Jan 29, 1998		Louisiana–Monroe	W 90–77	10–8 (8–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Jan 31, 1998		Northwestern State	W 71–62	11–8 (9–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 5, 1998		at Texas State	W 85–81	12–8 (10–0)	Strahan Arena San Marcos, Texas
Feb 14, 1998		at Southeastern Louisiana	W 88–71	13–8 (11–0)	University Center Hammond, Louisiana
Feb 16, 1998		Stephen F. Austin	W 79–76	14–8 (12–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 19, 1998		McNeese State	W 87–80	15–8 (13–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 21, 1998		Sam Houston State	W 77–74	16–8 (14–0)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 26, 1998		at Louisiana–Monroe	L 74–80	16–9 (14–1)	Fant–Ewing Coliseum Monroe, Louisiana
Feb 28, 1998		at Northwestern State	W 84–74	17–9 (15–1)	Prather Coliseum Natchitoches, Louisiana
Southland Tournament
Mar 6, 1998*		vs. Texas State Semifinals	W 79–71	18–9	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Shreveport, Louisiana
Mar 7, 1998*		vs. Texas–Arlington Championship game	W 84–81	19–9	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Shreveport, Louisiana
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1998*	(16 W)	vs. (1 W) No. 4 Arizona First round	L 60–99	19–10	ARCO Arena Sacramento, California
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source:^[4]

References

^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Southland Conference Season Summary
^ "Arizona Successfully Begins Title Defense". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Roster". Nicholls State University. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[1] sports-reference.com 1997-98 Southland Conference Season Summary

[2] "Arizona Successfully Begins Title Defense". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[3] "1997-98 Men's Basketball Roster". Nicholls State University. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[4] "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

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