1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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.

East Regional all-tournament team

 * Antawn Jamison – North Carolina (MOP)
 * Khalid El-Amin – UConn
 * Richard Hamilton – UConn
 * Vince Carter – North Carolina
 * Ed Cota – North Carolina
 * Shammond Williams – North Carolina

West Regional all-tournament team

 * Andre Miller – Utah (MOP)
 * Mike Bibby – Arizona
 * Michael Doleac – Utah
 * Alex Jensen – Utah
 * Hanno Mottola – Utah

South Regional – St. Petersburg, Florida
# All of Michigan's wins from the 1997–98 season were vacated on November 7, 2002, as part of the settlement of the University of Michigan basketball scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with the removal of any Michigan wins from all records.

South Regional all-tournament team

 * Wayne Turner – Kentucky (MOP)
 * Trajan Langdon – Duke
 * Roshown McLeod – Duke
 * Scott Padgett – Kentucky
 * Jeff Sheppard – Kentucky

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

 * Arthur Lee – Stanford (MOP)
 * Cuttino Mobley – Rhode Island
 * Tyson Wheeler – Rhode Island
 * Mark Madsen – Stanford
 * Bryce Drew – Valparaiso

Final Four all-tournament team

 * Jeff Sheppard – Kentucky (MOP)
 * Scott Padgett – Kentucky
 * Arthur Lee – Stanford
 * Andre Miller – Utah
 * Michael Doleac – Utah

Announcers

 * Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Michele Tafoya – First & Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia; South Regional at St. Petersburg, Florida; Final Four at San Antonio, Texas
 * Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Andrea Joyce – First & Second Round at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Greensboro, North Carolina
 * Gus Johnson/Jon Sundvold/Armen Keteyian – First & Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut; West Regional at Anaheim, California
 * Tim Brando/Al McGuire/Craig James – First & Second Round at Lexington, Kentucky; Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri
 * Ted Robinson/Rolando Blackman/Beth Mowins – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
 * Jim Durham/Greg Kelser/Mike Mayock – First & Second Round at Boise, Idaho
 * Tim Ryan/Dan Bonner/Jimmy Dykes – First & Second Round at Chicago, Illinois
 * Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – First & Second Round at Sacramento, California

Greg Gumbel rejoined CBS Sports and for the first time served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg and former North Carolina coach Dean Smith.