1997–98 UMKC Kangaroos men's basketball team

The 1997–98 UMKC Kangaroos men's basketball team represented the University of Missouri–Kansas City during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Kangaroos played their home games off-campus, primarily at Municipal Auditorium (with one at Kemper Arena) in Kansas City, Missouri, as a member of the Mid–Continent Conference.

1997–98 UMKC Kangaroos men's basketball
Conference	Mid–Continent Conference
Record	9–18 (7–9 Mid–Con)
Head coach	Bob Sundvold (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Brian Ostermann (2nd season) Bernie Pearson (1st season) Mike Sharpe (1st season)
Home arena	Municipal Auditorium, Kemper Arena

1997–98 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Valparaiso †	13	–	3		.813			23	–	10		.697
Oral Roberts	12	–	4		.750			19	–	12		.613
Youngstown State	11	–	5		.688			20	–	9		.690
Western Illinois	11	–	5		.688			16	–	11		.593
Buffalo	9	–	7		.563			15	–	13		.536
Missouri–Kansas City	7	–	9		.438			9	–	18		.333
Southern Utah	4	–	12		.250			7	–	20		.259
Northeastern Illinois	3	–	13		.188			6	–	19		.240
Chicago State	2	–	14		.125			2	–	25		.074
† 1998 Mid-Con Tournament winner Rankings from

Previous season

The Kangaroos finished the 1996–97 season with a record of 10–17 overall, 7–9 in the Mid–Continent Conference to finish in sixth place.

Roster

1997–98 UMKC Kangaroos men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 21 Anthony Perry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr Missouri State–West Plains Northside HS Fort Smith, AR C 45 Seth Breitkreutz 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Jr Bethany Lutheran Redwood Valley HS Redwood Falls, MN G 44 Anton Hall 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Jr Kennedy–King Manley Career HS Chicago, IL F 15 Jimmy Keller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Jr Cloud County CC Milwaukee Lutheran HS Milwaukee, WI C 42 Geoff Markos 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr Butler County CC   G 12 Nick Richmond 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr Frayser HS Memphis, TN G 33 Eddie Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Cloud County CC Omaha Central HS Omaha, NE G 32 Paul Taylor 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr Northeast Missouri State Columbia, MO G 20 Ralph Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr F 31 Sherod Dent 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 209 lb (95 kg) So Columbia John Marshall Metropolitan HS Chicago, IL G 10 Anthony Love 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Vashon HS St. Louis, MO F 4 Brad Mann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) So Riverton HS Riverton, KS F 11 Jack Savage 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Houston HS Memphis, TN	Head coach Bob Sundvold (South Dakota State) Assistant coach(es) Brian Ostermann (Wisconsin–La Crosse) Bernie Pearson (Friends) Mike Sharpe (Kansas State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on (5Y) Fifth-year Senior Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 3, 2024

Schedule & Results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 14, 1997*		at Creighton	L 59–81	0–1	17 – Smith	6 – Keller, Williams	3 – Richmond	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, NE
November 22, 1997*		at Texas–San Antonio	L 81–82	0–2	28 – Keller	18 – Keller	5 – Keller	Convocation Center (893) San Antonio, TX
November 24, 1997*		at Texas A&M	L 61–102	0–3	11 – Smith	6 – Smith	4 – Williams	G. Rollie White Coliseum (2,501) College Station, TX
November 26, 1997*		Doane	W 74–62	1–3	16 – Smith	9 – Smith, Savage	2 – Hall, Smith, Savage	Municipal Auditorium (1,881) Kansas City, MO
December 1, 1997*		at Northern Iowa	L 61–79	1–4	16 – Keller	6 – Keller	6 – Williams	Young Arena (1,823) Waterloo, IA
December 3, 1997*		Kansas State	L 50–71	1–5	21 – Richmond	9 – Dent	2 – Williams	Municipal Auditorium (5,270) Kansas City, MO
December 6, 1997		Youngstown State	L 60–75	1–6 (0–1)	14 – Keller, Richmond	7 – Hall	3 – Keller, Richmond, Smith	Municipal Auditorium (1,378) Kansas City, MO
December 10, 1997*		Denver	W 66–54	2–6	14 – Richmond, Williams	11 – Williams	3 – Keller	Municipal Auditorium (1,189) Kansas City, MO
December 13, 1997* 1:00 PM		Saint Louis	L 59–68	2–7	13 – Richmond	6 – Keller, Mann	3 – Keller, Smith, Williams	Municipal Auditorium (2,632) Kansas City, MO
December 16, 1997*		South Alabama	L 52–79	2–8	15 – Dent	5 – Mann	3 – Richmond, Williams	Municipal Auditorium (1,715) Kansas City, MO
December 20, 1997		Valparaiso	L 68–80	2–9 (0–2)	13 – Keller, Williams	7 – Keller	5 – Williams	Municipal Auditorium (1,823) Kansas City, MO
December 29, 1997*		at California Polytechnic State– San Luis Obispo	L 78–79	2–10	16 – Savage	10 – Savage	3 – Savage	Mott Gym (2,666) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 3, 1998		at Western Illinois	L 63–85	2–11 (0–3)	19 – Smith	6 – Smith	3 – Williams	Western Hall (3,304) Macomb, IL
January 8, 1998		at Northeastern Illinois	W 88–62	3–11 (1–3)	19 – Smith	9 – Breitkreutz	5 – Richmond	Physical Education Complex (155) Chicago, IL
January 10, 1998		at Chicago State	L 69–79	3–12 (1–4)	17 – Savage	10 – Hall	3 – Williams	Jacoby D. Dickens Physical Education and Athletics Center (221) Chicago, IL
January 15, 1998		Oral Roberts	L 63–65	3–13 (1–5)	14 – Breitkreutz	9 – Keller	5 – Savage	Municipal Auditorium (2,083) Kansas City, MO
January 17, 1998		Southern Utah	W 80–51	4–13 (2–5)	13 – Dent	7 – Smith, Dent, Mann	5 – Hall	Municipal Auditorium (2,083) Kansas City, MO
January 21, 1998		at Buffalo	W 81–67	5–11 (3–5)	14 – Smith	7 – Keller, Savage	5 – Smith	Alumni Arena (1,371) Amherst, NY
January 31, 1998		Western Illinois	W 71–64 OT	6–13 (4–5)	21 – Smith	5 – Keller, Dent, Mann	3 – Smith	Municipal Auditorium (6,883) Kansas City, MO
February 5, 1998		Chicago State	W 89–65	7–13 (5–5)	15 – Perry	7 – Perry	8 – Hall	Municipal Auditorium (1,690) Kansas City, MO
February 7, 1998		Northeastern Illinois	W 93–67	8–13 (6–5)	19 – Dent	6 – Perry, Keller	5 – Dent, Savage	Kemper Arena (2,310) Kansas City, MO
February 12, 1998		at Southern Utah	L 62–71	8–14 (6–6)	13 – Dent	9 – Hall	3 – Hall, Mann	Centrum Arena (2,066) Cedar City, UT
February 14, 1998		at Oral Roberts	L 75–89	8–15 (6–7)	20 – Smith	7 – Smith	5 – Smith	Mabee Center (6,024) Tulsa, OK
February 16, 1998		at Youngstown State	L 47–69	8–16 (6–8)	9 – Keller	5 – Hall, Dent, Savage	4 – Richmond	Beeghly Physical Education Center (2,100) Youngstown, OH
February 21, 1998		Buffalo	W 78–68	9–16 (7–8)	15 – Dent	10 – Keller	4 – Hall, Smith	Municipal Auditorium (3,553) Kansas City, MO
February 23, 1998		at Valparaiso	L 65–75	9–17 (7–9)	14 – Perry	6 – Savage	3 – Hall, Smith, Savage	Athletics–Recreation Center (4,019) Valparaiso, IN
Conference Tournament
March 1, 1998* 6:00 PM	(6)	vs. (3) Youngstown State Quarterfinal	L 59–75	9–18	10 – Hall, Keller	7 – Perry	2 – Perry, Keller, Smith	The MARK of the Quad Cities  Moline, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time (CST).

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