# 1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

The 1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 1976–77 college basketball season. This was head coach Lee Rose's second season at Charlotte. The 49ers competed in the Sun Belt Conference and played their home games at the original Charlotte Coliseum. They finished the season 28–5 (5–1 in Sun Belt play) and won the Sun Belt tournament to receive a bid to the 1977 NCAA tournament. The 49ers would defeat Central Michigan, No. 6 Syracuse, and No. 1 Michigan to reach the Final Four (to date, the only appearance in school history). Charlotte lost a 2-point game to the eventual national champion, Marquette, in the national semifinals before falling to UNLV in the consolation game.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1976* | No. 19 | Georgia College | W 111–63 | 1–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 1, 1976* | No. 20 | Eastern Kentucky | W 104–62 | 2–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 4, 1976* | No. 20 | at No. 15 Tennessee | L 67–69 | 2–1 | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 6, 1976* | | Morehead State | W 75–68 | 3–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 11, 1976* | | at New Mexico State Roadrunner Classic | W 85–81 | 4–1 | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Dec 12, 1976* | | vs. Lamar Roadrunner Classic | W 91–86 | 5–1 | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Dec 18, 1976* | | at Charleston Southern | W 107–58 | 6–1 | CSU Fieldhouse North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 29, 1976* | | Brown Charlotte Classic | W 97–81 | 7–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 30, 1976* | | New Hampshire Charlotte Classic | W 104–68 | 8–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 8, 1977* | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 80–69 | 9–1 | Rob Gym Santa Barbara, California |
| Jan 15, 1977* | | Charleston Southern | W 120–87 | 10–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 19, 1977* | | at Appalachian State | W 87–59 | 11–1 | Varsity Gymnasium Boone, North Carolina |
| Jan 22, 1977* | | at No. 9 Wake Forest | L 72–74 | 11–2 | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 24, 1977* | | at Rollins | W 91–76 | 12–2 | Winter Park, Florida |
| Jan 26, 1977* | | Georgia Southern | W 93–77 | 13–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 29, 1977* | | at Florida State | W 76–65 | 14–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 31, 1977* | | UNC Wilmington | W 83–70 | 15–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 5, 1977* | | at Saint Francis (PA) | L 87–96 | 15–3 | DeGol Arena Loretto, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 12, 1977* | | at Southern Mississippi | W 102–72 | 16–3 | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Feb 15, 1977* | | Birmingham–Southern | W 87–74 | 17–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 19, 1977* | | at Seton Hall | W 85–75 | 18–3 | Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, New Jersey |
| Feb 21, 1977* | | at Samford | W 95–81 | 19–3 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 26, 1977* | | Buffalo State | W 83–72 | 20–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 28, 1977* | | Creighton | W 85–67 | 21–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar 2, 1977* | | at Marshall | W 84–80 | 22–3 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, West Virginia |
| Mar 4, 1977* | | Virginia Commonwealth | W 87–72 | 23–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Sun Belt tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1977* | No. 18 | Jacksonville | W 74–69 | 24–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar 9, 1977* | No. 18 | New Orleans | W 71–70 | 25–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1977* | No. 18 | vs. Central Michigan Mideast Regional Quarterfinal | W 91–86 $^{OT}$ | 26–3 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Mar 17, 1977* | No. 17 | vs. No. 6 Syracuse Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 81–59 | 27–3 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 19, 1977* | No. 17 | vs. No. 1 Michigan Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight | W 75–68 | 28–3 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 26, 1977* | No. 17 | vs. No. 7 Marquette National semifinal – Final Four | L 49–51 | 28–4 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 28, 1977* | No. 17 | vs. No. 4 UNLV National 3rd-place game | L 94–106 | 28–5 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Cedric Maxwell – Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
* Lee Rose – Sporting News Coach of the Year, Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year

## Players in the 1977 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 12 | Cedric Maxwell | Boston Celtics |
| 4 | 68 | Melvin Watkins | Buffalo Braves |