They were coached by Tubby Smith and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Jeff Shepherd.

In the 32-team 1998 National Invitation Tournament, the Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Following the season, the 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First Team included Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, and Miles Simon.

The consensus second team was composed of Vince Carter, Mateen Cleaves, Pat Garrity, Richard Hamilton, and Ansu Sesay.

The Hoyas played their first home game at the MCI Center on December 3, 1997, losing their Big East Conference opener to Villanova 73–69 before a crowd of 13,181.