1997–98 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

The 1997–98 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 1997–98 college basketball season. This was head coach Melvin Watkins's second of two seasons at the helm of his alma mater. The 49ers competed in Conference USA and played their home games at Dale F. Halton Arena. They finished the season 20–11 (13–3 in C-USA play) and received an at-large bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament as No. 8 seed in the East region. The 49ers defeated Illinois-Chicago in the opening round[2] before losing to No. 1 seed North Carolina, 93–83 in overtime, in the round of 32.[3]

1997–98 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionAmerican
Record20–11 (13–3 C-USA)
Head coach
Home arenaDale F. Halton Arena
Seasons
1997–98 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
American
No. 9 Cincinnati 14 2   .875 27 6   .818
UNC Charlotte 13 3   .813 20 11   .645
Saint Louis 11 5   .688 22 11   .667
Marquette 8 8   .500 20 11   .645
Louisville 5 11   .313 12 20   .375
DePaul 3 13   .188 7 23   .233
National
Memphis 12 4   .750 17 12   .586
UAB 10 6   .625 21 12   .636
Southern Miss 9 7   .563 22 11   .667
South Florida 7 9   .438 17 13   .567
Houston 2 14   .125 9 20   .310
Tulane 2 14   .125 7 22   .241
1998 Conference USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1997–98 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F/C 4 DeMarco Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Charlotte, North Carolina
G 5 Sean Colson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F Galen Young 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

[4]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 21, 1997*
at Miami (FL) L 72–89  0–1
Miami Arena 
Miami, Florida
Nov 24, 1997*
at Appalachian State L 60–66  0–2
Varsity Gymnasium 
Boone, North Carolina
Dec 3, 1997*
Old Dominion W 72–44  1–2
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 6, 1997*
at VMI W 88–70  2–2
Cameron Hall 
Lexington, Virginia
Dec 10, 1997*
Davidson W 70–55  3–2
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 12, 1997*
Boston University L 71–73  3–3
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 20, 1997*
at George Washington L 83–93  3–4
MCI Center 
Washington, D.C.
Dec 27, 1997*
9:00 pm
vs. Western Michigan
Hoosier Classic
L 65–81  3–5
Market Square Arena (15,918)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dec 28, 1997*
vs. Southwest Missouri State
Hoosier Classic
W 83–69  4–5
Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 3, 1998
DePaul W 81–55  5–5
(1–0)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 8, 1998
at South Florida W 74–64  6–5
(2–0)
Sun Dome 
Tampa, Florida
Jan 13, 1998
Marquette W 66–53  7–5
(3–0)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 15, 1998*
No. 20 vs. Massachusetts
A-10/Conference USA Challenge
L 62–68 OT 7–6
Providence Civic Center (3,925)
Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 17, 1998
at Southern Miss W 60–56  8–6
(4–0)
Reed Green Coliseum 
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Jan 22, 1998
Louisville W 84–75  9–6
(5–0)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1998
UAB W 86–80  10–6
(6–0)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 29, 1998
at DePaul W 86–73  11–6
(7–0)
Rosemont Horizon 
Rosemont, Illinois
Jan 31, 1998
at Memphis L 70–73  11–7
(7–1)
Pyramid Arena 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 4, 1998
at Saint Louis L 80–83  11–8
(7–2)
Kiel Center 
St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 7, 1998
No. 16 Cincinnati W 69–62  12–8
(8–2)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 9, 1998
Tulane W 77–68  13–8
(9–2)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 12, 1998
at Marquette W 58–56  14–8
(10–2)
Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 15, 1998
at Louisville W 73–68  15–8
(11–2)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 21, 1998
Saint Louis W 76–62  16–8
(12–2)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 26, 1998
No. 16 at Cincinnati L 67–68  16–9
(12–3)
Myrl H. Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 28, 1998
Houston W 105–75  17–9
(13–3)
Dale F. Halton Arena 
Charlotte, North Carolina
C-USA tournament
Mar 5, 1998*
vs. Marquette
Quarterfinals
W 63–55  18–9
Myrl H. Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 6, 1998*
vs. Southern Miss
Semifinals
W 65–53  19–9
Myrl H. Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 7, 1998*
at No. 14 Cincinnati
Championship game
L 57–71  19–10
Myrl H. Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1998*
(8 E) vs. (9 E) Illinois-Chicago
First Round
W 77–62  20–10
Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 14, 1998*
(8 E) vs. (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina
Second Round
L 83–93 OT 20–11
Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, Connecticut
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[5]

Rankings

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[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Conference USA Season Summary
  2. ^ "UNC Charlotte Douse Flames 77-62". CBS News. March 12, 1998. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "It's Survival of the Finest for Tar Heels". The Los Angeles Times. March 15, 1998. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "Results for 1997-98". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1064–1065. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.