Kentucky won the 1998 NCAA tournament, the program's second in three years. It was also the Wildcats' third consecutive appearance in the national final. This time, UK beat Utah for the championship.
The Wildcats and Utes were joined by North Carolina and Stanford at the Final Four in San Antonio.
Tournament highlights include Kentucky rallying from double-digit deficits in its final three tournament games and No. 13 Valparaiso making the Sweet 16.
1998 NCAA tournament: Bracket
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1998 NCAA tournament: Scores
- First Round
- East Regional
- No. 1 North Carolina 88, No. 16 Navy 52
- No. 8 UNC Charlotte 77, No. 9 Illinois-Chicago 62
- No. 5 Princeton 69, No. 12 UNLV 57
- No. 4 Michigan State 83, No. 13 Eastern Michigan 71
- No. 11 Washington 69, No. 6 Xavier 68
- No. 14 Richmond 62, No. 3 South Carolina 61
- No. 7 Indiana 94, No. 10 Oklahoma 87 (OT)
- No. 2 UConn 93, No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson 85
- West Regional
- No. 1 Arizona 99, No. 16 Nicholls State 60
- No. 9 Illinois State 82, No. 8 Tennessee 81 (OT)
- No. 5 Illinois 64, No. 12 South Alabama 51
- No. 4 Maryland 82, No. 13 Utah State 68
- No. 6 Arkansas 74, No. 11 Nebraska 65
- No. 3 Utah 85, No. 14 San Francisco 68
- No. 10 West Virginia 82, No. 7 Temple 52
- No. 2 Cincinnati 65, No. 15 Northern Arizona 62
- South Regional
- No. 1 Duke 99, No. 16 Radford 63
- No. 8 Oklahoma State 74, No. 9 George Washington 59
- No. 5 Syracuse 63, No. 12 Iona 61
- No. 4 New Mexico 79, No. 13 Butler 62
- No. 6 UCLA 65, No. 11 Miami (FL) 62
- No. 3 Michigan 80, No. 14 Davidson 61
- No. 10 Saint Louis 51, No. 7 UMass 46
- No. 2 Kentucky 82, No. 15 South Carolina State 67
- Midwest Regional
- No. 1 Kansas 110, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 52
- No. 8 Rhode Island 97, No. 9 Murray State 74
- No. 12 Florida State 96, No. 5 TCU 87
- No. 13 Valparaiso 70, No. 4 Ole Miss 69 |
- No. 11 Western Michigan 75, No. 6 Clemson 72
- No. 3 Stanford 67, No. 14 College of Charleston 57
- No. 10 Detroit 66, No. 7 St. John's 64
- No. 2 Purdue 95, No. 15 Delaware 56
- East Regional
- Second Round
- East Regional
- No. 1 North Carolina 93, No. 8 UNC Charlotte 83 (OT)
- No. 4 Michigan State 63, No. 5 Princeton 56
- No. 11 Washington 81, No. 14 Richmond 66
- No. 2 UConn 78, No. 7 Indiana 68
- West Regional
- No. 1 Arizona 82, No. 9 Illinois State 49
- No. 4 Maryland 67, No. 5 Illinois 61
- No. 3 Utah 75, No. 6 Arkansas 69
- No. 10 West Virginia 75, No. 2 Cincinnati 74
- South Regional
- No. 1 Duke 79, No. 8 Oklahoma State 73
- No. 5 Syracuse 56, No. 4 New Mexico 46
- No. 6 UCLA 85, No. 3 Michigan 82
- No. 2 Kentucky 88, No. 10 Saint Louis 61
- Midwest Regional
- No. 8 Rhode Island 80, No. 1 Kansas 75
- No. 13 Valparaiso 83, No. 12 Florida State 77 (OT)
- No. 3 Stanford 83, No. 11 Western Michigan 65
- No. 2 Purdue 80, No. 10 Detroit 65
- East Regional
- Sweet 16
- East Regional
- No. 1 North Carolina 73, No. 4 Michigan State 58
- No. 2 UConn 75, No. 11 Washington 74
- West Regional
- No. 1 Arizona 87, No. 4 Maryland 79
- No. 3 Utah 65, No. 10 West Virginia 62
- South Regional
- No. 1 Duke 80, No. 5 Syracuse 67
- No. 2 Kentucky 94, No. 6 UCLA 68
- Midwest Regional
- No. 8 Rhode Island 74, No. 13 Valparaiso 68
- No. 3 Stanford 67, No. 2 Purdue 59
- East Regional
- Elite Eight
- East Regional
- No. 1 North Carolina 75, No. 2 UConn 64
- West Regional
- No. 3 Utah 76, No. 1 Arizona 51
- South Regional
- No. 2 Kentucky 86, No. 1 Duke 84 |
- Midwest Regional
- No. 3 Stanford 79, No. 8 Rhode Island 77
- East Regional
- Final Four (San Antonio, Texas)
- National semifinals
- No. 3 Utah 65, No. 1 North Carolina 59
- No. 2 Kentucky 86, No. 3 Stanford 85 (OT)
- National championship
- No. 2 Kentucky 78, No. 3 Utah 69 |
- National semifinals
1998 NCAA tournament: Upsets
The following double-digit seeds won games:
Team | Score | Opponent |
---|---|---|
FIRST ROUND | ||
No. 14 Richmond | 62-61 | No. 3 South Carolina |
No. 13 Valparaiso | 70-69 | No. 4 Ole Miss |
No. 12 Florida State | 96-87 | No. 5 TCU |
No. 11 Washington | 69-68 | No. 6 Xavier |
No. 11 Western Michigan | 75-72 | No. 6 Clemson |
No. 10 West Virginia | 82-52 | No. 7 Temple |
No. 10 Saint Louis | 51-46 | No. 7 UMass |
No. 10 Detroit | 66-64 | No. 7 St. John's |
SECOND ROUND | ||
No. 13 Valparaiso | 83-77 (OT) | No. 12 Florida State |
No. 11 Washington | 81-66 | No. 14 Richmond |
No. 10 West Virginia | 75-74 | No. 2 Cincinnati |
1998 NCAA tournament: Stats, records
Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games played):
Individual scoring
- Khalid El-Amin, UConn (4) — 23.3
Individual rebounding
- Antawn Jamison, North Carolina (5) — 12.6
Individual assists
- Ed Cota, North Carolina (5) — 7.0