1996–97 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

1996–97 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
1996–97 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Conference USA
Record	22–9 (10–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Melvin Watkins (1st season);
Home arena	Dale F. Halton Arena
	Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Conference USA men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Blue
No. 10 Cincinnati	12	–	2	.857	26	–	8	.765
Marquette †	9	–	5	.643	22	–	9	.710
Saint Louis	4	–	10	.286	11	–	18	.379
DePaul	1	–	13	.071	3	–	23	.115
Red
Tulane	11	–	3	.786	20	–	11	.645
UAB	7	–	7	.500	18	–	14	.563
Southern Miss	6	–	8	.429	12	–	15	.444
South Florida	2	–	12	.143	8	–	19	.296
White
UNC Charlotte	10	–	4	.714	22	–	9	.710
Memphis	10	–	4	.714	16	–	15	.516
No. 25 Louisville	9	–	5	.643	26	–	9	.743
Houston	3	–	11	.214	11	–	16	.407

† 1997 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1996–97 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 1996–97 college basketball season. This was head coach Melvin Watkins's first 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 22–9 (10–4 in C-USA play) and received an at-large bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as No. 7 seed in the West region. The 49ers defeated Georgetown in the opening round^[2] before losing to No. 2 seed Utah, 77–58, in the round of 32.^[3]

Roster[edit]

1996–97 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	4	DeMarco Johnson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	5	Sean Colson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F/C	33	DeMarco Johnson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Charlotte, North Carolina

Head coach

Melvin Watkins

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[4]

Schedule and results[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1996*		at Kent State	W 96–82	1–0	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Kent, Ohio
Nov 30, 1996*		at Old Dominion	L 64–65	1–1	Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia
Dec 2, 1996*		Appalachian State	W 75–63	2–1	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 6, 1996*		South Carolina	L 60–75	2–2	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 7, 1996*		USC	L 61–65	2–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 14, 1996*		at Davidson	W 70–68	3–3	Belk Arena Davidson, North Carolina
Dec 18, 1996*		Southern Illinois	W 71–62	4–3	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 21, 1996*		at Canisius	W 54–51	5–3	Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York
Dec 28, 1996*		Tennessee	W 72–51	6–3	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 30, 1996*		George Washington	W 76–69	7–3	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 4, 1997*		VMI	W 96–76	8–3	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 6, 1997		No. 14 Louisville	L 81–92	8–4 (0–1)	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 9, 1997		Memphis	W 71–65	9–4 (1–1)	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 11, 1997		Saint Louis	W 81–52	10–4 (2–1)	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 14, 1997		at South Florida	W 69–64	11–4 (3–1)	Sun Dome Tampa, Florida
Jan 19, 1997		at Memphis	W 76–70	12–4 (4–1)	The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 21, 1997		No. 9 Cincinnati	L 67–77	12–5 (4–2)	Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
C-USA tournament
Mar 6, 1997*		vs. No. 20 Louisville Quarterfinals	W 64–60	20–7	Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 7, 1997*		vs. UAB Semifinals	W 67–65	21–7	Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 8, 1997*		vs. Marquette Championship game	L 52–60	21–8	Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997* CBS	(7 W)	vs. (10 W) Georgetown Second round	W 79–67	22–8	McKale Center (12,958) Tucson, Arizona
Mar 16, 1997* CBS	(7 W)	vs. (2 W) No. 2 Utah Second round	L 58–77	22–9	McKale Center Tucson, Arizona
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

^[5]

Rankings[edit]

^[6]

References[edit]

^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Conference USA Season Summary
^ "Page's Cold Shooting Ousts Georgetown Early". The New York Times. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "Van Horn, defense get Utah into Sweet 16". The Baltimore Sun. March 17, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "1996-97 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "Results for 1996-97". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[1] sports-reference.com 1996-97 Conference USA Season Summary

[2] "Page's Cold Shooting Ousts Georgetown Early". The New York Times. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

[3] "Van Horn, defense get Utah into Sweet 16". The Baltimore Sun. March 17, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

[4] "1996-97 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

[5] "Results for 1996-97". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

[ESPN-6] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

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[3]

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[5]

[6]

v t e Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
Venues	Local high school gyms (1965–1970) Belk Gymnasium (1970–1976; alternate, 1976–1996) Bojangles Coliseum (1976–1988, 1993–1996) Charlotte Coliseum (1988–1993) Dale F. Halton Arena (1996–present) Spectrum Center (alternate, 2007–present)
Culture & lore	Norm the Niner
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics