The 1997–98 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Tim Floyd, who was in his 4th season. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa and competed in the Big 12 Conference.
They finished the season 12–18, 5–11 in Big 12 play to finish in 11th place. They lost to Missouri in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
At the conclusion of the season head coach Tim Floyd accepted the same position with the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.
Previous season
The previous season was the Cyclones first year in the newly formed Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 conference was formed by the eight teams of the recently dissolved Big Eight Conference and was joined by Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, all formally of the Southwest Conference which had dissolved following the 1995–1996 school year as well.
The Cyclones finished the season 22–9, 10–6 in Big 12 play to finish tied for third place. They defeated Texas Tech and lost to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and a #6 seed. In the tournament they defeated Illinois State and Cincinnati to reach the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to UCLA.
The Cyclones saw individual success with Dedric Willoughby being names All-American Second Team, NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team, and first team All-Big Eight.
Offseason departures
Offseason departuresNamePositionReason Kelvin Cato Center Graduated/NBA draft Jacy Holloway Guard Graduated Dedric Willoughby Guard Graduated Ha-Keem Abdel-Khaliq Guard Graduated Kenny Pratt Forward Graduated Shawn Bankhead Forward Graduated Russ Schoenauer Forward Left basketball team DeAndre Harris Guard Transferred out of programReference:
Preseason
Head Coach Tim Floyd was able to sign McDonald's All-American Marcus Fizer. Fizer was the first, and to date, only McDonald's All-American to sign with Iowa State. Floyd first started recruiting Fizer when he was coaching at New Orleans.
Floyd was also able to replenish the back-court with Junior College transfers Jerry Curry, Tim Stevens, and Delvin Washington.
Preseason Poll
Preseason PollFinishSchool 1 Kansas 2 Oklahoma 3 Texas 4 Missouri 5 Nebraska 6 Iowa State 7 Oklahoma State 8 Texas Tech 9 Colorado 10 Baylor 11 Texas A&M 12 Kansas StateReference:
Incoming Players
Incoming PlayersNamePositionHeightWeightPrevious SchoolHometown Marcus Fizer Forward 6'8" 240 lbs. Arcadia High Arcadia, Louisiana Lee Love Guard 6'1" 170 lbs. St. Augustine High New Orleans Lamont Sides Guard 6'2" 160 lbs. Marine Military Academy High Point, North Carolina Delvin Washington Guard 6'2" 200 lbs. Butler County CC Port Arthur, Texas Martin Rancik Forward 6'8" 230 lbs. Saint Louis Park Nitra, SK Paris Corner Guard 6'1" 185 lbs. West Brook High Beaumont, Texas Jerry Curry Guard 6'1" 195 lbs. Jacksonville CC Jackson, Tennessee Andy Strensrud Guard 6'9" 245 lbs. Lake Mills High Lake Mills, Iowa Chris Riddens Forward 6'9" 210 lbs. Mountain Grove High School Mountain Grove, Missouri Walter Moore Forward 6'9" 230 lbs. Parkway Central Chesterfield, Missouri Tim Stevens Guard 6'0" 180 lbs. Joliet JC Minooka, IllinoisReference:
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""|Regular season
!colspan=12 style=""|Big 12 Tournament
Awards and honors
All-Big 12 Selections
Marcus Fizer (Third team)
Academic All-Big 12
Paul Shirley (First team) Klay Edwards (Second team)
Ralph A. Olsen Award
Marcus Fizer
Big 12 Freshman of the Year
Marcus Fizer
Big 12 Freshman of the Week
Marcus Fizer (January 4th) Marcus Fizer (January 11th) Marcus Fizer (February 23rd) Marcus Fizer (March 1st)
References