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

1997–98 Conference USA men's basketball standings
	American
	National
	† 1998 Conference USA Tournament winner; Rankings from AP Poll

1997–98 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
1997–98 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Conference USA
	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 →

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]

Roster

1997–98 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
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
F/C	33	DeMarco Johnson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Charlotte, North Carolina

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
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 Mississippi 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.

v t e Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
Venues	Local high school gyms (1965–1970) Belk Gymnasium (1970–1976; alternate, 1976–1996) Bojangles' Coliseum (1976–1988, 1993–1996) Charlotte Coliseum (1988–1993) Dale F. Halton Arena (1996–present) Spectrum Center (alternate, 2007–present)
Culture & lore	Norm the Niner
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

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]