# 1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama as members of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Bob Weltlich and played their home games at the Mitchell Center. They finished the season 21–7, 14–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They won the Sun Belt tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament as the 12 seed in the Southeast region. In the opening round, the Jaguars lost to No. 5 seed Illinois.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 29, 1997* | | Alcorn State | W 72–41 | 1–0 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 9, 1997* | | Southern Miss | L 47–52 | 1–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 12, 1997* | | vs. Alcorn State Indiana Classic | W 52–42 | 2–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Dec 13, 1997* | | at Indiana Indiana Classic | L 56–64 | 2–2 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Dec 16, 1997* | | at Kansas City | W 79–52 | 3–2 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 22, 1997* | | Washington | W 69–52 | 4–2 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Sun Belt Regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 1997 | | at Arkansas State | L 66–82 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 (0–1) | First National Bank Arena Jonesboro, Arkansas |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | at Jacksonville | W 72–59 | 5–3 (1–1) | Jacksonville Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Jan 5, 1998 | | Lamar | W 48–44 | 6–3 (2–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 8, 1998 | | Arkansas–Little Rock | W 68–49 | 7–3 (3–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 10, 1998 | | Western Kentucky | W 68–48 | 8–3 (4–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | Louisiana Tech | W 61–50 | 9–3 (5–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | Arkansas State | W 78–68 | 10–3 (6–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | at Louisiana Tech | W 62–48 | 11–3 (7–1) | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana |
| Jan 26, 1998 | | at New Orleans | L 55–71 | 11–4 (7–2) | Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | Jacksonville | W 52–31 | 12–4 (8–2) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 31, 1998 7:35 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 105–70 | 13–4 (9–2) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | at Southwestern Louisiana | L 53–67 | 13–5 (9–3) | Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | at Lamar | L 62–66 | 13–6 (9–4) | Montagne Center Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 10, 1998 | | Southwestern Louisiana | W 71–55 | 14–6 (10–4) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | New Orleans | W 68–50 | 15–6 (11–4) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 19, 1998 7:30 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 87–54 | 16–6 (12–4) | UTPA Fieldhouse Edinburg, Texas |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | at Western Kentucky | W 55–50 | 17–6 (13–4) | E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Feb 23, 1998 | | at Arkansas–Little Rock | W 61–43 | 18–6 (14–4) | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Sun Belt Conference tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1998* | (1) | vs. (9) Western Kentucky Quarterfinals | W 61–47 | 19–6 | Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Mar 1, 1998* | (1) | vs. (4) Arkansas–Little Rock Semifinals | W 79–48 | 20–6 | Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Mar 3, 1998* | (1) | at (3) Southwestern Louisiana Championship game | W 62–59 | 21–6 | Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1998* | (12 W) | vs. (5 W) No. 22 Illinois First round | L 51–64 | 21–7 | ARCO Arena (14,920) Sacramento, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||