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

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

in the 1996–97

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

season. This was head coach

Melvin Watkins Melvin Lenzo Watkins (born November 15, 1954) is an American former college basketball coach and former player. Early years Born in Reidsville, North Carolina, Melvin Watkins attended Reidsville High School. Watkins started for the Reidsville H ...

's first of two seasons at the helm of his alma mater. The 49ers competed in

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

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 before losing to No. 2 seed

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 77–58, in the round of 32.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, C-USA tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Charlotte 49ers Men's Basketball Team Charlotte 49ers men's basketball seasons Charlotte Charlotte Charlotte 49ers men's basket Charlotte 49ers men's basket