1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
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	Bob Weltlich (1st season);
Home arena	Mitchell Center
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 ⊟

1997–98 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
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

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]

Roster

1997–98 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	5	Rusty Yoder	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr

Head coach

Bob Weltlich (Ohio State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

^[2]

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.

^[3]

References

^ "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.

[1] "Illini Defense Shuts Down South Alabama". The New York Times. March 13, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[2] "1997-98 South Alabama Jaguars Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[3] "2019-20 South Alabama Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of South Alabama Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
Venues	Jaguar Gymnasium (1968–1998) Mobile Civic Center (alternate, 1968–1998) Mitchell Center (1998–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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