# 1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by head coach Jimmy Collins, played their home games at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. UIC finished as regular season co-champions by going 12–2 in MCC play. They were knocked out early in the MCC tournament, but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament – the first bid in program history. Playing as No. 9 seed in the East region, UIC was beaten by No. 8 seed UNC Charlotte, 77–62, in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 16, 1997* | | at Louisiana Tech | W 73–68 | 1–0 | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana |
| Nov 18, 1997* | | Alabama State | W 86–64 | 2–0 | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Nov 21, 1997* 8:00 p.m. | | Michigan State | W 70–58 | 3–0 | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Nov 24, 1997* | | at Illinois | L 70–71 | 3–1 | Assembly Hall (10,789) Champaign, Illinois |
| Nov 29, 1997* | | Bowling Green | W 80–50 | 4–1 | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 2, 1997* | | at Northern Illinois | W 79–73 | 5–1 | Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, Illinois |
| Dec 4, 1997* | | vs. Western Illinois Montana Tournament | W 78–60 | 6–1 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, Montana |
| Dec 6, 1997* | | at Montana State Montana Tournament | W 80–70 | 7–1 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, Montana |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | Valparaiso | W 72–51 | 8–1 | UIC Pavilion (3,466) Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 16, 1997* | | Illinois State | W 75–67 | 9–1 | UIC Pavilion (5,640) Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | Louisiana Tech | W 72–58 | 10–1 | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 28, 1997* | | Marquette | L 67–73 | 10–2 | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | at Butler | L 76–78 | 10–3 (0–1) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,531) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 5, 1998 | | at Wright State | W 83–81 | 11–3 (1–1) | Ervin J. Nutter Center Fairborn, Ohio |
| Jan 9, 1998 | | Cleveland State | W 83–67 | 12–3 (2–1) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 11, 1998 | | Detroit | W 88–83 | 13–3 (3–1) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | at UW-Milwaukee | W 72–63 | 14–3 (4–1) | Wisconsin Center Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 19, 1998 | | at Wisconsin-Green Bay | W 60–58 | 15–3 (5–1) | Brown County Arena Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | at Loyola (IL) | W 61–55 | 16–3 (6–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | Butler | W 72–62 | 17–3 (7–1) | UIC Pavilion (4,748) Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | Wright State | W 82–70 | 18–3 (8–1) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at Detroit | L 58–76 | 18–4 (8–2) | Calihan Hall Detroit, Michigan |
| Feb 12, 1998 | | Wisconsin-Green Bay | W 56–47 | 19–4 (9–2) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | UW-Milwaukee | W 92–68 | 20–4 (10–2) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 19, 1998 | | at Cleveland State | W 96–72 | 21–4 (11–2) | Henry J. Goodman Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | Loyola (IL) | W 74–58 | 22–4 (12–2) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| MCC tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1998* | | vs. Wright State Quarterfinals | L 73–74 | 22–5 | Brown County Arena Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (9 E) | vs. (8 E) UNC Charlotte First round | L 62–77 | 22–6 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time Zone. ||||||
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