1997–98 Florida Gators men's basketball team

1997–98 Florida Gators men's basketball
1997–98 Florida Gators men's basketball
NIT, 1st round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	East
Record	14-15 (6-10 SEC)
Head coach	Billy Donovan;
Home arena	O'Connell Center

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^[1]

The 1997–98 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 1997-98 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

On December 27, 1997, Florida lost to UAB 80-73 in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Miami, Florida.^[2]

The team finished the season with a 14-15 record. The Gators lost in the 2nd round of the SEC tournament to South Carolina 71-60. In the 1998 NIT, they lost in the 1st round to Georgetown 71-69.^[3]

References

^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". UAB Athletics. 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
^ "1997-98 Florida Gators Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

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

[2] "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". UAB Athletics. 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

[3] "1997-98 Florida Gators Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

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[3]

Florida Gators men's basketball
Venues	University Gymnasium (1919–1927) New Gymasium (1927–1949) Florida Gymnasium (1949–1980) Stephen C. O'Connell Center (1980–present)
Rivalries	Florida State Kentucky
Culture & lore	Dazzlers Jumpman Invitational
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1915–16 1916–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics