1997-98 Season in Review
Stanford Story
One of the best teams in school history, a high national ranking, excellent team chemistry, talent and depth ... It added up to another highly successful season for the Stanford Cardinal ... Stanford finished the year 30-5 and a trip to the NCAA Final Four ... The 30 wins broke the school record (28) set by the NCAA championship team in 1941-42 ... And for the second straight season, the Cardinal finished second in the Pac-10, this time with a 15-3 record ... The 15 wins tied the school record initially set by the Cardinal in 1988-89.
Ratings Review
Stanford was ranked fourth in the final ESPN/USA Today poll and tenth in the final Associated Press poll ... When Stanford was ranked fourth in the AP poll on Jan. 26, 1998, this was Stanford's highest ranking since being ranked fourth in the nation by United Press International on December 25, 1962 ... When Stanford was ranked ninth in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls on Dec. 20, 1997, this was the first time Stanford had reached the Top 10 since March 12, 1963 by United Press International ... On that day, Stanford was ranked tenth.
National Notes
Stanford finished second in the nation in rebound margin at 9.3 ... Stanford finished eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at .408 ... Stanford finished ninth in the nation in won-lost percentage at .857 (30-5) ... Arthur Lee finished tenth in the nation in free throw percentage at .887 ... Stanford finished 15th in the nation in free throw percentage at .738 ... Stanford finished 17th in the nation in scoring margin at 11.9 ... Stanford finished 25th in the nation in scoring offense at 80.2 ppg.
League Log
Stanford placed first in eight offensive and defensive categories in the Pac-10 ... The Cardinal led the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.408), rebounding (41.3 rpg), scoring defense (68.3 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.416), three-point field goal percentage defense (.336), rebounding defense (31.9), rebounding margin (9.3) and defensive rebounds (26.7).
Honors Hoopla
Six players were accorded honors for their excellent play in 1997-98 ... Kris Weems, who was second on the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg, was named to the All Pac-10 team ... Weems finished fifth in the Pac-10 in free throw percentage at .826 ... Tim Young, Stanford's all-time shot blocker (136), was named to the All Pac-10 team ... Young, who averaged 11.3 ppg, was the team leader in rebounding with 284 and #2 in rebounds per game at 8.1 per game (#4 in the Pac-10) ... Young was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District-14 first team, and first team All-West by Basketball Times ... Arthur Lee was named honorable mention All Pac-10 ... Lee was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Midwest Regional in St. Louis, and first team All-West by Basketball Times ... Lee was named to the all-tourney team at the NCAA Final Four ... Lee, who led the team in scoring at 14.5 ppg, was #1 in the Pac-10 and tenth in the country in free throw percentage at .887 ... Lee made his last 38 free throws to end the 1997-98 season ... Lee was named to the All NABC District-14 first team ... Jarron Collins was a member of the Pac-10 all-freshman first team ... Collins, one of Stanford's first big men off the bench, was second on the team in blocks with 16 and shot .530 from the field ... Mark Madsen and Kamba Tshionyi were named second team Pac-10 All-Academic team ... Madsen was named to the all-tourney team at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Cardinal Catalogue
Stanford won 20 games for a fourth straight season, a first in Stanford basketball history ... Stanford was 11-2 at home, 10-2 on the road and 9-1 on neutral territory ... Twenty-two of Stanford's 35 games were either played on the road or on a neutral site ... Stanford started the year with a school record 18 wins, and of course that was also the school's best start ever.
Depth Dialogue
This was Stanford's deepest team ever in terms of talent with strength at every position ... Because of Stanford's strength at every position, ten players averaged at least ten minutes per game.
Charity Cavalcade
The Cardinal hit .738 from the line, #2 in the Pac-10 and 15th best in the country ... Three Stanford starters shot 80 percent or better, and two of them were ranked #1, and #5 in the Pac-10 ... Arthur Lee was at .887 (164-185) and Kris Weems was at .826 (71-86) ... Lee's free throw percentage was tenth-best in the country ... Stanford's starting backcourt of Lee and Weems shot a combined .867 (235-for-271) from the free throw line, tops among backcourts in the Pac-10.
Tall Team
The 1997-98 Stanford frontline was the tallest in school history with eight players 6-foot-7 or taller.
Defensive Data
Stanford's defense held its opponents to only 42 percent shooting, #1 in the Pac-10 ... In only eight games did the opposition hit 50 percent or better ... In 14 games, the opposition was held to under 40 percent shooting ... Stanford allowed the opposition 68.3 ppg, #1 in the conference ... The Cardinal outscored the opposition by 11.9 ppg, #2 in the Pac-10 and 17th best in the country ... The Cardinal averaged 41.2 rebounds per game, #1 in the conference and outrebounded the opposition by a margin of 9.4 per game, #1 in the Pac-10 and #2 in the country ... Stanford outrebounded its opponents in 31 of the 35 games ... Stanford gave up only 31.9 rebounds per game, #1 in the Pac-10.
Record Review
Stanford broke or tied 18 school, Maples Pavilion and NCAA records ... Stanford recorded 30 wins, breaking the school record of 28 set in 1941-42, the year the school won the NCAA title ... Stanford broke the school record with 20 straight home wins ... Stanford started the year with a school record 18 wins, and of course that was also the school's best start ever ... Stanford scored 2,807 points this year, breaking the old record of 2,577 set in 1987-88 ... Stanford scored 947 field goals, breaking the old record of 907 in 1987-88 ... Stanford attempted 2,080 field goals, breaking the old record of 2,028 set in 1952-53 ... Stanford made 262 three-pointers, breaking the old record of 222 in 1996-97 ... Stanford attempted 642 three-pointers, breaking the old record of 570 set in 1996-97 ... Stanford grabbed 1,444 rebounds, breaking the school record of 1,343 set in 1952-53 ... Stanford played in 35 games, breaking the school record of 33 set in 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1990-91 ... Six Stanford players each played in 35 games, breaking the record of 33 games held by 14 players ... Arthur Lee hit 35 of 35 free throw attempts, tying an NCAA Tournament record for free throw percentage ... Mark Seaton has a career field goal percentage mark of .621, currently the school record ... Tim Young has 136 career blocks, breaking the old record of 121 set by Howard Wright (1985-89) ... The Cardinal tied a school record and Maples Pavilion record with 15 three-pointers against USC ... Stanford tied a school record with 15 wins in Pac-10 play ... Stanford recorded nine sellouts at Maples Pavilion this year, breaking the school record of seven set in 1988-89.
Trey Time
Not only was Stanford strong from the inside, it shot the ball from the outside ... Four Cardinal players ranked in the Top-10 in the conference in three-point shooting ... Ryan Mendez was first at .474 (45-95), Arthur Lee was second at .443 (62-140), David Moseley was third at .422 (43-102), and Peter Sauer was seventh at .416 (42-101) ... As a team, Stanford was first in the conference at .408 and ranked eighth in the nation ... Stanford tied the school and Maples Pavilion record for most three-pointers in a game with 15 against USC ... The original record was set in Stanford's 109-61 victory over UCLA in 1996-97 ... Stanford made 262 three-pointers, a school record ... Stanford attempted 642 three-pointers, a school record.
Home Hoopla
Stanford broke the school record with 20 straight home wins (13-0 vs Pac-10 schools, 7-0 vs non-conference schools) at Maples Pavilion in 1997-98 before losing to Arizona on Jan. 29, 1998 ... During Stanford's winning streak at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal outscored its opponents by an average of 23.8 points per game.