1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team


The 1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 1976–77 college basketball season. This was head coach Lee Rose's second season at Charlotte. The 49ers competed in the Sun Belt Conference and played their home games at the original Charlotte Coliseum. They finished the season 28–5 (5–1 in Sun Belt play) and won the Sun Belt tournament to receive a bid to the 1977 NCAA tournament. The 49ers would defeat Central Michigan, No. 6 Syracuse,[1] and No. 1 Michigan to reach the Final Four (to date, the only appearance in school history). Charlotte lost a 2-point game to the eventual national champion, Marquette, in the national semifinals before falling to UNLV in the consolation game.

1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Ranking
APNo. 17
Record28–5 (5–1 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCharlotte Coliseum
Belk Gymnasium (alternate)
Seasons
← 1975–76
1977–78 →
1976–77 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 UNC Charlotte 5 1   .833 28 5   .848
New Orleans 4 2   .667 18 10   .643
South Alabama 3 3   .500 17 10   .630
Jacksonville 2 4   .333 10 19   .345
South Florida 2 4   .333 9 18   .333
Georgia State 2 4   .333 10 18   .357
1977 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

edit
1976–77 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 12 Jeff Gruber 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jr Cary, North Carolina
G 21 Chad Kinch 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Perth Amboy, New Jersey
G 22 Todd Crowley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Charlotte, North Carolina
F 23 Lew Massey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jr Charlotte, North Carolina
G 24 Lee Whitfield 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Charlotte, North Carolina
F 25 Kevin King 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Lakewood, New Jersey
F 31 Phil Scott 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Columbia, Maryland
G 32 Melvin Watkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Sr Reidsville, North Carolina
C 33 Cedric Maxwell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Sr Kinston, North Carolina
F 43 Ken Angel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Sr Covington, Kentucky
F 44 Mike Hester 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Burlington, North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1976*
No. 19 Georgia College W 111–63  1–0
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 1, 1976*
No. 20 Eastern Kentucky W 104–62  2–0
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 4, 1976*
No. 20 at No. 15 Tennessee L 67–69  2–1
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 6, 1976*
Morehead State W 75–68  3–1
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 11, 1976*
at New Mexico State
Roadrunner Classic
W 85–81  4–1
Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 12, 1976*
vs. Lamar
Roadrunner Classic
W 91–86  5–1
Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 18, 1976*
at Charleston Southern W 107–58  6–1
CSU Fieldhouse 
North Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 29, 1976*
Brown
Charlotte Classic
W 97–81  7–1
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 30, 1976*
New Hampshire
Charlotte Classic
W 104–68  8–1
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 8, 1977*
at UC Santa Barbara W 80–69  9–1
Rob Gym 
Santa Barbara, California
Jan 15, 1977*
Charleston Southern W 120–87  10–1
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 19, 1977*
at Appalachian State W 87–59  11–1
Varsity Gymnasium 
Boone, North Carolina
Jan 22, 1977*
at No. 9 Wake Forest L 72–74  11–2
Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1977*
at Rollins W 91–76  12–2
 
Winter Park, Florida
Jan 26, 1977*
Georgia Southern W 93–77  13–2
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 29, 1977*
at Florida State W 76–65  14–2
Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 31, 1977*
UNC Wilmington W 83–70  15–2
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 5, 1977*
at Saint Francis (PA) L 87–96  15–3
DeGol Arena 
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Feb 12, 1977*
at Southern Mississippi W 102–72  16–3
Reed Green Coliseum 
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Feb 15, 1977*
Birmingham–Southern W 87–74  17–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 19, 1977*
at Seton Hall W 85–75  18–3
Walsh Gymnasium 
South Orange, New Jersey
Feb 21, 1977*
at Samford W 95–81  19–3
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 26, 1977*
Buffalo State W 83–72  20–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 28, 1977*
Creighton W 85–67  21–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 2, 1977*
at Marshall W 84–80  22–3
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse 
Huntington, West Virginia
Mar 4, 1977*
Virginia Commonwealth W 87–72  23–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Sun Belt tournament
Mar 8, 1977*
No. 18 Jacksonville W 74–69  24–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 9, 1977*
No. 18 New Orleans W 71–70  25–3
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1977*
No. 18 vs. Central Michigan
Mideast Regional Quarterfinal
W 91–86 OT 26–3
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 17, 1977*
No. 17 vs. No. 6 Syracuse
Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 81–59[1]  27–3
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 19, 1977*
No. 17 vs. No. 1 Michigan
Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight
W 75–68  28–3
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 26, 1977*
No. 17 vs. No. 7 Marquette
National semifinal – Final Four
L 49–51  28–4
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 28, 1977*
No. 17 vs. No. 4 UNLV
National 3rd-place game
L 94–106  28–5
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[3]

Rankings

edit

[4]

Awards and honors

edit

Players in the 1977 NBA draft

edit
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 12 Cedric Maxwell Boston Celtics
4 68 Melvin Watkins Buffalo Braves

[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Charlotte Advances With Michigan". The New York Times. March 18, 1977. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "1976-77 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Results for 1976-77". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 836–837. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  5. ^ "1977 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.