The 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1998, and ended with the championship game on March 30 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A total of 63 games were played.
The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their third consecutive Final Four, Stanford, making their first appearance since their initial Final Four run in 1942, Utah, making their fourth Final Four and first since 1966, and North Carolina, who returned for a fourteenth overall time and third in four seasons.
Kentucky won the national title, its second in three seasons and seventh overall, by defeating Utah 78–69 in the championship game.
Jeff Sheppard of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last three games in the tournament, including a 17-point second half comeback against the Duke Blue Devils, leading to the school's fans dubbing the team the "Comeback Cats". This was Kentucky's third straight championship game appearance.
Bryce Drew led the 13th-seeded Valparaiso Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen, including a memorable play that remains part of March Madness lore.
For the second consecutive season, a #14 seed advanced from the first round; Richmond, coached by John Beilein, upset South Carolina.
For the second time in three years, a top seeded team failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. That distinction belonged to Midwest Region #1 seed Kansas, who was defeated by #8 seed Rhode Island.
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1998 tournament:
First and Second Rounds
March 12 and 14
East Region
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) MCI Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: George Mason University) West Region BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University) ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Host: University of the Pacific) March 13 and 15 Midwest Region United Center, Chicago, Illinois (Host: Big Ten Conference) Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) South Region Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 19 and 21 East Regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) West Regional, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference) March 20 and 22 Midwest Regional, Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference) South Regional, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 28 and 30 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)
Teams
There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10).
Three conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Northern Arizona (Big Sky), Radford (Big South), and Prairie View A&M (SWAC). Additionally, UIC received an at-large bid for its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.