1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama as members of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Bob Weltlich and played their home games at the Mitchell Center. They finished the season 21–7, 14–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They won the Sun Belt tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament as the 12 seed in the Southeast region. In the opening round, the Jaguars lost to No. 5 seed Illinois.[1]

1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
Sun Belt Regular season co-champions
Sun Belt tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record21–7 (14–4 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Home arenaMitchell Center
Seasons
1997–98 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Alabama 14 4   .778 21 7   .750
Arkansas State 14 4   .778 20 9   .690
Southwestern Louisiana 12 6   .667 18 13   .581
Arkansas–Little Rock 10 8   .556 15 13   .536
Louisiana Tech 9 9   .500 12 15   .444
New Orleans 9 9   .500 15 12   .556
Lamar 7 11   .389 15 14   .517
Jacksonville 6 12   .333 8 19   .296
Western Kentucky 6 12   .333 10 19   .345
Texas–Pan American 3 15   .167 3 24   .111
1998 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 5 Rusty Yoder 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Sr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

[2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference Regular season
Nov 29, 1997*
Alcorn State W 72–41  1–0
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Dec 9, 1997*
Southern Miss L 47–52  1–1
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Dec 12, 1997*
vs. Alcorn State
Indiana Classic
W 52–42  2–1
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Dec 13, 1997*
at Indiana
Indiana Classic
L 56–64  2–2
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Dec 16, 1997*
at Kansas City W 79–52  3–2
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 22, 1997*
Washington W 69–52  4–2
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Sun Belt Regular season
Dec 28, 1997
at Arkansas State L 66–82 OT 4–3
(0–1)
First National Bank Arena 
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jan 3, 1998
at Jacksonville W 72–59  5–3
(1–1)
Jacksonville Coliseum 
Jacksonville, Florida
Jan 5, 1998
Lamar W 48–44  6–3
(2–1)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 8, 1998
Arkansas–Little Rock W 68–49  7–3
(3–1)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 10, 1998
Western Kentucky W 68–48  8–3
(4–1)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 15, 1998
Louisiana Tech W 61–50  9–3
(5–1)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 17, 1998
Arkansas State W 78–68  10–3
(6–1)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 24, 1998
at Louisiana Tech W 62–48  11–3
(7–1)
Thomas Assembly Center 
Ruston, Louisiana
Jan 26, 1998
at New Orleans L 55–71  11–4
(7–2)
Lakefront Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 29, 1998
Jacksonville W 52–31  12–4
(8–2)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Jan 31, 1998
7:35 pm
Texas–Rio Grande Valley W 105–70  13–4
(9–2)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Feb 5, 1998
at Southwestern Louisiana L 53–67  13–5
(9–3)
Cajundome 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Feb 7, 1998
at Lamar L 62–66  13–6
(9–4)
Montagne Center 
Beaumont, Texas
Feb 10, 1998
Southwestern Louisiana W 71–55  14–6
(10–4)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Feb 14, 1998
New Orleans W 68–50  15–6
(11–4)
Jaguar Gym 
Mobile, Alabama
Feb 19, 1998
7:30 pm
at Texas–Rio Grande Valley W 87–54  16–6
(12–4)
UTPA Fieldhouse 
Edinburg, Texas
Feb 21, 1998
at Western Kentucky W 55–50  17–6
(13–4)
E.A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Feb 23, 1998
at Arkansas–Little Rock W 61–43  18–6
(14–4)
Barton Coliseum 
Little Rock, Arkansas
Sun Belt Conference tournament
Feb 28, 1998*
(1) vs. (9) Western Kentucky
Quarterfinals
W 61–47  19–6
Cajundome 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Mar 1, 1998*
(1) vs. (4) Arkansas–Little Rock
Semifinals
W 79–48  20–6
Cajundome 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Mar 3, 1998*
(1) at (3) Southwestern Louisiana
Championship game
W 62–59  21–6
Cajundome 
Lafayette, Louisiana
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1998*
(12 W) vs. (5 W) No. 22 Illinois
First round
L 51–64  21–7
ARCO Arena (14,920)
Sacramento, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Central Time.

[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Illini Defense Shuts Down South Alabama". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "1997-98 South Alabama Jaguars Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "2019-20 South Alabama Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of South Alabama Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2023.