# 1997–98 Detroit Titans men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Detroit Titans men's basketball team represented the University of Detroit Mercy in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by coach Perry Watson, the Titans played their home games at Calihan Hall as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. They finished the season 25–6 overall, 12–2 in MCC play to win the regular season league title.
Playing in the MCC tournament as the No. 1 seed, they defeated UW-Milwaukee in the quarterfinals before losing to Green Bay in the semifinals. Despite the early exit, Detroit received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. The Titans beat No. 7 seed St. John's in the opening round before losing to No. 2 seed Purdue in the second round.
This 1997–98 team, which tied the school record with 25 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1979, was honored 20 years later.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 17, 1997* | | at Cincinnati | L 66–76 | 0–1 | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nov 25, 1997* | | Wayne State | W 95–59 | 1–1 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Nov 30, 1997* | | Michigan | L 53–54 | 1–2 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Dec 3, 1997* | | Bowling Green | W 73–52 | 2–2 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Dec 6, 1997* 2:00 pm | | Western Michigan | W 77–59 | 3–2 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Dec 13, 1997* 7:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | at Michigan State | W 68–65 | 4–2 | Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec 16, 1997* | | Central Michigan | W 77–53 | 5–2 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Dec 18, 1997* | | at Georgia State | W 74–64 | 6–2 | GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia |
| Dec 20, 1997* | | vs. Grambling State ISU Holiday Challenge | W 74–52 | 7–2 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Dec 21, 1997* 9:00 pm, CTN | | at Iowa State ISU Holiday Challenge | W 67–56 | 8–2 | Hilton Coliseum (8,026) Ames, Iowa |
| Dec 27, 1997* | | at Texas Southern | W 90–75 | 9–2 | Health and Physical Education Arena Houston, Texas |
| Dec 31, 1997* | | at Bethune–Cookman | W 79–65 | 10–2 | Moore Gymnasium Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Jan 3, 1998 | | UW-Milwaukee | W 83–56 | 11–2 (1–0) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 5, 1998 | | Green Bay | W 58–41 | 12–2 (2–0) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 11, 1998 | | at Illinois-Chicago | L 83–88 | 12–3 (2–1) | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 15, 1998 | | Wright State | W 80–75 | 13–3 (3–1) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 17, 1998 | | Butler | W 78–67 | 14–3 (4–1) | Cobo Arena (4,076) Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 19, 1998 | | at Loyola (IL) | W 76–71 | 15–3 (5–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 24, 1998 | | Cleveland State | W 84–70 | 16–3 (6–1) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 29, 1998 | | at UW-Milwaukee | W 83–68 | 17–3 (7–1) | Wisconsin Center Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 31, 1998 | | at Green Bay | W 67–64 $^{OT}$ | 18–3 (8–1) | Brown County Arena Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Feb 5, 1998 | | Loyola (IL) | W 94–65 | 19–3 (9–1) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Feb 7, 1998 | | Illinois-Chicago | W 76–58 | 20–3 (10–1) | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Feb 12, 1998 | | at Butler | W 54–51 | 21–3 (11–1) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,213) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 14, 1998 | | at Wright State | W 68–60 | 22–3 (12–1) | Ervin J. Nutter Center Fairborn, Ohio |
| Feb 18, 1998* 7:05 pm | | Oakland | W 110–61 | 23–3 | Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Feb 21, 1998 | | at Cleveland State | L 57–60 | 23–4 (12–2) | Henry J. Goodman Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| MCC tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1998 | (1) | vs. (8) UW-Milwaukee Quarterfinals | W 74–60 | 24–4 | Brown County Arena Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Mar 1, 1998 | (1) | at (4) Green Bay Semifinals | L 65–68 | 24–5 | Brown County Arena Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1998* | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) St. John's First Round | W 66–64 | 25–5 | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| Mar 15, 1998* | (10 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 11 Purdue Second Round | L 65–80 | 25–6 | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||