# 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 before losing to No. 1 seed North Carolina, 93–83 in overtime, in the round of 32.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 21, 1997* | No. 17 | at Miami (FL) | L 72–89 | 0–1 | Miami Arena Miami, Florida |
| Nov 24, 1997* | No. 25 | 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 | | No. 23 Marquette | W 66–53 | 7–5 (3–0) | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 15, 1998* | | 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. 20 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 | | at No. 17 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. ||||||