1998–99 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team

The 1998–99 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team represented the University of Miami during the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hurricanes, led by ninth year head coach Leonard Hamilton, played their home games at the Miami Arena and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 23–7, 15–3 in Big East play to finish in second place. They lost in the second round of the 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament to St. John's. They were invited to the 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they defeated Lafayette in the first round before falling in the second round to Purdue.

1998–99 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Big East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 10
Record	23–7 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach	Leonard Hamilton (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Dwight Freeman Stan Jones Scott Howard
Home arena	Miami Arena

1998–99 Big East men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Connecticut†	16	–	2		.889			34	–	2		.944
No. 10 Miami (FL)	15	–	3		.833			23	–	7		.767
No. 9 St. John's	14	–	4		.778			28	–	9		.757
Syracuse	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Villanova	10	–	8		.556			21	–	11		.656
Rutgers	9	–	9		.500			19	–	13		.863
Providence	9	–	9		.500			16	–	14		.533
Notre Dame	8	–	10		.444			14	–	16		.467
Seton Hall	8	–	10		.444			15	–	15		.500
Georgetown	6	–	12		.333			15	–	16		.484
Pittsburgh	5	–	13		.278			14	–	16		.467
West Virginia	4	–	14		.222			10	–	19		.345
Boston College	3	–	15		.167			6	–	21		.222
† 1999 Big East tournament winner As of March 29, 1999 Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Hurricanes finished the 1997–98 season 18–10 overall, 11–7 in Big East play and lost in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament to UCLA.

Roster

1998–99 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 3 Mike Byers-Dawson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Fort Worth, TX G/F 4 Michael Simmons 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Los Angeles, CA F 5 John Salmons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Philadelphia, PA F 11 Jerry Schlie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Holbrook, NY G 13 Paulo Coelho 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Figueira da Foz, Portugal G 14 Todd Manuel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So New Canaan, CT F 15 Nick Donovan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Sr Coventry, England G/F 30 Vernon Jennings 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr College Park, GA G/F 31 Johnny Hemsley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Baltimore, MD F 34 Dwayne Wimbley 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Fort Lauderdale, FL F 40 Tim James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Sr Miami, FL G/F 34 Kevin Houston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Brooklyn, NY F 44 Elton Tyler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Dorchester, MA F 51 Mario Bland 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Jr Jackson, MS	Head coach Leonard Hamilton (UT Martin) Assistant coach(es) Dwight Freeman (Western Colorado) Stan Jones (Memphis) Scott Howard (Iowa State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 13, 1998* 7:30 pm		at Florida Atlantic	W 97–73	1–0	26 – James	10 – Tied	8 – Hemsley	FAU Arena (4,122) Boca Raton, FL
Nov 23, 1998* 7:35 pm		at UNC Charlotte	L 59–66	1–1	15 – Bland	15 – James	5 – Jennings	Dale F. Halton Arena (6,834) Charlotte, NC
Nov 27, 1998* 7:30 pm		Northern Iowa	W 78–69	2–1	18 – James	10 – Bland	2 – Tied	Miami Arena (2,385) Miami, FL
Dec 5, 1998* 3:50 pm, CBS		at No. 8 Kentucky	L 65–74	2–2	22 – James	10 – Bland	5 – Jennings	Rupp Arena (23,565) Lexington, KY
Dec 8, 1998 7:30 pm, SportsChannel		Boston College	W 77–64	3–2 (1–0)	19 – Tied	8 – James	4 – Tied	Miami Arena (2,824) Miami, FL
Dec 11, 1998* 7:30 pm		Central Florida	W 66–56	4–2	18 – Hemsley	10 – Houston	4 – Hemsley	Miami Arena (2,208) Miami, FL
Dec 18, 1998* 7:00 pm		at Georgia State	W 76–55	5–2	24 – Hemsley	6 – Jennings	6 – Simmons	GSU Sports Arena (2,189) Atlanta, GA
Dec 22, 1998* 7:30 pm		Memphis	W 80–64	6–2	23 – James	10 – James	4 – Tied	Miami Arena (2,307) Miami, FL
Dec 27, 1998* 4:35 pm, SportsChannel		Ohio State Orange Bowl Classic	W 72–64	7–2	29 – James	11 – James	3 – Tied	National Car Rental Center (11,051) Sunrise, FL
Dec 30, 1998 12:05 pm, SportsChannel		at Georgetown	W 64–63	8–2 (2–0)	35 – Hemsley	15 – James	7 – Jennings	MCI Center (7,102) Washington, D.C.
Jan 6, 1999 7:05 pm, SportsChannel		No. 10 St. John's	W 84–79	9–2 (3–0)	22 – James	7 – Salmons	5 – Jennings	Miami Arena (4,382) Miami, FL
Jan 9, 1999 7:35 pm, SportsChannel		Notre Dame	L 68–71	9–3 (3–1)	17 – James	5 – Hemsley	5 – Jennings	Miami Arena (4,022) Miami, FL
Jan 13, 1999 8:05 pm, ESPN2		at Rutgers	W 74–62	10–3 (4–1)	22 – Hemsley	10 – James	6 – Jennings	Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,601) Piscataway, NJ
Jan 16, 1999 4:05 pm, SportsChannel		at West Virginia	W 64–55	11–3 (5–1)	18 – James	10 – James	4 – Tied	WVU Coliseum (9,261) Morgantown, WV
Jan 20, 1999 7:05 pm, ESPN	No. 25	No. 1 Connecticut	L 68–70 OT	11–4 (5–2)	21 – Bland	8 – Tied	4 – Tied	Miami Arena (15,147) Miami, FL
Jan 24, 1999 1:05 pm, SportsChannel	No. 25	at Boston College	W 75–67	12–4 (6–2)	21 – Hemsley	8 – James	4 – Tied	Conte Forum (4,251) Chestnut Hill, MA
Jan 27, 1999 7:30 pm	No. 23	Seton Hall	W 77–71	13–4 (7–2)	31 – James	10 – James	7 – Jennings	Miami Arena (3,815) Miami, FL
Jan 30, 1999 4:30 pm, SportsChannel	No. 23	at Pittsburgh	L 54–60	13–5 (7–3)	17 – James	7 – Tied	2 – Tied	Fitzgerald Field House (6,541) Pittsburgh, PA
Feb 3, 1999 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 25	at No. 9 St. John's	W 73–70	14–5 (8–3)	29 – Hemsley	10 – James	6 – Jennings	Madison Square Garden (11,472) New York, NY
Feb 6, 1999 12:00 pm, WPLG	No. 25	Georgetown	W 71–58	15–5 (9–3)	21 – James	12 – James	7 – Jennings	Miami Arena (4,482) Miami, FL
Feb 8, 1999 7:30 pm, ESPN	No. 16	at No. 18 Syracuse	W 76–63	16–5 (10–3)	21 – Hemsley	9 – James	11 – Jennings	Carrier Dome (18,836) Syracuse, NY
Feb 13, 1999 4:00 pm, SportsChannel	No. 16	at Providence	W 69–65	17–5 (11–3)	24 – Hemsley	11 – James	8 – Jennings	Providence Civic Center (10,427) Providence, RI
Feb 16, 1999 7:30 pm, SportsChannel	No. 15	Villanova	W 103–82	18–5 (12–3)	26 – Hemsley	10 – Bland	8 – Jennings	Miami Arena (4,230) Miami, FL
Feb 20, 1999 1:00 pm, CBS	No. 15	at No. 2 Connecticut	W 73–71	19–5 (13–3)	19 – Hemsley	14 – Bland	5 – Jennings	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, CT
Feb 23, 1999 7:30 pm, SportsChannel	No. 11	Pittsburgh	W 85–52	20–5 (14–3)	20 – James	13 – Salmons	12 – Jennings	Miami Arena (8,210) Miami, FL
Feb 27, 1999 12:00 pm, WPLG	No. 11	Rutgers	W 68–63	21–5 (15–3)	14 – James	12 – Bland	6 – Jennings	Miami Arena (10,497) Miami, FL
Big East tournament
Mar 4, 1999 7:05 pm, ESPN2	(2) No. 9	vs. (10) Georgetown Quarterfinals	W 65–54	22–5	19 – Bland	9 – Bland	5 – Jennings	Madison Square Garden (18,813) New York, NY
Mar 5, 1999 9:30 pm, ESPN	(2) No. 9	vs. (3) No. 10 St. John's Semifinals	L 59–62	22–6	25 – James	9 – James	8 – Jennings	Madison Square Garden (19,548) New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1999 7:40 pm, CBS	(2 E) No. 10	vs. (15) Lafayette First Round	W 75–54	23–6	31 – Hemsley	7 – Tied	8 – Jennings	FleetCenter (18,908) Boston, MA
Mar 14, 1999 5:00 pm, CBS	(2 E) No. 10	vs. (10) Purdue Second Round	L 63–73	23–7	19 – James	11 – Bland	4 – Salmons	FleetCenter (18,913) Boston, MA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time.