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
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Conference USA
Division	American
Record	20–11 (13–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Melvin Watkins (2nd season)
Home arena	Dale F. Halton Arena
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	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

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 Melvin Watkins Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

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Schedule and results

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.

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Rankings

See also: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

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References

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.