1997–98 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1997–98 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Cliff Ellis, who was in his fourth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 16–14, 7–9 in SEC play. They lost to Florida in the first round of the SEC tournament. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Southern Miss to advance to the second round where they lost to Marquette.

1997–98 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	West
Record	16–14 (7–9 SEC)
Head coach	Cliff Ellis (4th season)
Captains	Franklin Williams (1st year) Doc Robinson (1st year)
Home arena	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum

1997–98 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 5 Kentucky †	14	–	2		.875			35	–	4		.897
No. 14 South Carolina	11	–	5		.688			23	–	8		.742
Tennessee	9	–	7		.563			20	–	9		.690
Georgia	7	–	9		.438			20	–	15		.571
Vanderbilt	7	–	9		.438			20	–	13		.606
Florida	6	–	10		.375			14	–	15		.483
West
No. 13 Ole Miss	12	–	4		.750			22	–	7		.759
No. 17 Arkansas	11	–	5		.688			24	–	9		.727
Auburn	7	–	9		.438			16	–	14		.533
Alabama	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Mississippi State	4	–	12		.250			15	–	15		.500
LSU	2	–	14		.125			9	–	18		.333
† 1998 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1997–98 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 10 Scott Pohlman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Roswell Roswell, Georgia G 13 Bryant Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Butler Huntsville, Alabama G 23 Daymeon Fishback 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So Greenwood Bowling Green, Kentucky C 34 Mamadou N'Diaye 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Maine Central Institute Dakar, Senegal G 50 Doc Robinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Selma Selma, Alabama	Head coach Cliff Ellis Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and Results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 1997*		Next Level Sports	W 79–63	–	15 – Robinson	12 – N'diaye	4 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (2,000) Auburn, AL
November 4, 1997*		Marathon	W 78–65	–	14 – N'diaye	11 – N'diaye	4 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (1,500) Auburn, AL
Regular season
November 11, 1997* , FSS		vs. No. 24 Temple NABC Classic	L 42–68	0–1	14 – Pohlman	7 – Tied	4 – Robinson	University Arena (17,112) Albuquerque, NM
November 14, 1997*		at Central Florida	W 70–63	1–1	20 – Pohlman	9 – Hughes	6 – Robinson	UCF Arena (3,814) Orlando, FL
November 17, 1997*		Nicholls State	W 96–75	2–1	18 – Tied	11 – Smith	8 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (2,250) Auburn, AL
November 21, 1997*		Southern Miss	W 83–70	3–1	21 – Tied	9 – N'diaye	6 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (5,433) Auburn, AL
November 25, 1997*		Wofford	W 68–51	4–1	26 – Smith	13 – Smith	4 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (1,817) Auburn, AL
December 6, 1997*		Florida A&M	W 79–69	5–1	17 – Robinson	13 – Smith	5 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (1,206) Auburn, AL
December 12, 1997*		vs. Pepperdine Cougar Classic	L 55–62	5–2	14 – Smith	9 – Hughes	7 – Robinson	Marriott Center (1,253) Provo, UT
December 13, 1997*		vs. Weber State Cougar Classic	W 63–58	6–2	12 – Tied	9 – Tied	4 – Robinson	Marriott Center (1,510) Provo, UT
December 16, 1997*		Jacksonville State	W 89–61	7–2	13 – Hughes	9 – N'diaye	5 – Pohlman	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (3,163) Auburn, AL
December 20, 1997*		vs. UAB Arby's Holiday Hardwood Classic	L 65–71	7–3	25 – Smith	9 – Smith	4 – Robinson	BJCC Coliseum (12,684) Birmingham, AL
December 30, 1997*		Navy	W 70–54	8–3	11 – Tied	9 – Tied	3 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (4,126) Auburn, AL
January 3, 1998		Georgia	W 73–62	9–3 (1–0)	19 – Tied	11 – Smith	4 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (5,641) Auburn, AL
January 7, 1998		at Tennessee	W 74–69	10–3 (2–0)	16 – Smith	10 – Tied	8 – Smith	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,221) Knoxville, TN
January 14, 1997		at LSU	L 54–59	10–4 (2–1)	14 – Robinson	8 – N'diaye	6 – Robinson	Maravich Assembly Center (7,142) Baton Rouge, LA
January 18, 1998 , JP		Alabama	W 94–40	11–4 (3–1)	16 – Smith	11 – N'diaye	3 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (10,108) Auburn, AL
January 21, 1998		No. 18 Arkansas	L 65–79	11–5 (3–2)	20 – Robinson	9 – N'diaye	3 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (7,238) Auburn, AL
January 24, 1998 , JP		No. 14 South Carolina	L 56–61	11–6 (3–3)	20 – Smith	6 – N'diaye	2 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (6,931) Auburn, AL
January 28, 1998		at Mississippi State	W 69–66 OT	12–6 (4–3)	16 – Robinson	9 – Tied	4 – Robinson	Humphrey Coliseum (6,734) Starkville, MS
January 31, 1998 , FSS		No. 12 Ole Miss	W 68–67	13–6 (5–3)	18 – Robinson	9 – N'diaye	3 – Tied	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (6,935) Auburn, AL
February 4, 1998		at Alabama	L 62–76	13–7 (5–4)	21 – Smith	13 – Hughes	4 – Robinson	Coleman Coliseum (9,452) Tuscaloosa, AL
February 7, 1998 , JP		Mississippi State	W 68–66 OT	14–7 (6–4)	15 – Tied	7 – Tied	5 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (6,289) Auburn, AL
February 11, 1998 , Sun		at Florida	L 64–81	14–8 (6–5)	18 – Robinson	8 – Tied	3 – Tied	O'Connell Center (7,610) Gainesville, FL
February 14, 1998		LSU	W 66–44	15–8 (7–5)	13 – Tied	9 – Robinson	4 – Smith	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (6,537) Auburn, AL
February 18, 1998		at Vanderbilt	L 66–82	15–9 (7–6)	14 – Hughes	6 – N'diaye	4 – Robinson	Memorial Gymnasium (14,641) Nashville, TN
February 21, 1998 , JP		at No. 16 Arkansas	L 83–107	15–10 (7–7)	24 – Fishback	9 – N'diaye	5 – Robinson	Bud Walton Arena (22,242) Fayetteville, AR
February 25, 1998 , JP		No. 7 Kentucky	L 58–83	15–11 (7–8)	15 – Robinson	6 – Smith	5 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (9,644) Auburn, AL
February 28, 1998		at No. 13 Ole Miss	L 67–74	15–12 (7–9)	14 – Fishback	9 – N'diaye	5 – Robinson	Tad Smith Coliseum (8,217) Oxford, MS
SEC Tournament
March 5, 1998 , JP	(W3)	vs. (E6) Florida First Round	L 64–68	15–13	18 – Pohlman	10 – N'diaye	5 – Robinson	Georgia Dome (13,855) Atlanta, GA
National Invitational Tournament
March 11, 1998		Southern Miss First Round	W 77–62	16–13	19 – N'diaye	12 – Chilliest	6 – Robinson	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (5,191) Auburn, AL
March 16, 1998		at Marquette Second Round	L 60–75 OT	16–14	19 – Pohlman	7 – Chilliest	5 – Fishback	Bradley Center (8,692) Milwaukee, WI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.