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.[1]
| 1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
Sun Belt Regular season co-champions Sun Belt tournament champions | |
NCAA tournament, first round | |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| Record | 21–7 (14–4 Sun Belt) |
| Head coach |
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| Home arena | Mitchell Center |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama † | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 21 | – | 7 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 20 | – | 9 | .690 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 18 | – | 13 | .581 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 12 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lamar | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 15 | – | 14 | .517 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 8 | – | 19 | .296 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 10 | – | 19 | .345 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas–Pan American | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 3 | – | 24 | .111 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1998 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roster
edit| 1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
edit| 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. | |||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Illini Defense Shuts Down South Alabama". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ "1997-98 South Alabama Jaguars Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ "2019-20 South Alabama Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of South Alabama Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2023.