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.

1997–98 Detroit Titans men's basketball
Midwestern Collegiate Conference Regular season champions
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceMidwestern Collegiate Conference
Record25–6 (12–2 MCC)
Head coach
Home arenaCalihan Hall
Seasons
1997–98 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Detroit 12 2   .857 25 6   .806
UIC 12 2   .857 22 6   .786
Butler 8 6   .571 22 11   .667
Green Bay 7 7   .500 17 12   .586
Cleveland State 6 8   .429 12 15   .444
Loyola Chicago 6 8   .429 15 15   .500
Wright State 3 11   .214 10 18   .357
Milwaukee 2 12   .143 3 24   .111
1998 MCC tournament winner

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[1] before losing to No. 2 seed Purdue in the second round.[2]

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.[3]

Roster

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1997–98 Detroit Titans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G Jermaine Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr Detroit, MI
G Rashad Phillips 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Fr Detroit, MI
G Desmond Ferguson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Lansing, MI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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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.

References

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  1. ^ "St. John's Falls to Detroit". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "Purdue Blasts Detroit and Rolls Into St. Louis". The New York Times. March 16, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "No Longer A Dream, The 1997-98 Titans Made It A Reality". University of Detroit Mercy. January 22, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2022.