1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by head coach Jimmy Collins, played their home games at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. UIC finished as regular season co-champions by going 12–2 in MCC play. They were knocked out early in the MCC tournament, but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament – the first bid in program history. Playing as No. 9 seed in the East region, UIC was beaten by No. 8 seed UNC Charlotte, 77–62, in the opening round.

1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball
MCC Regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Midwestern Collegiate Conference
Record	22–6 (12–2 MCC)
Head coach	Jimmy Collins
Home arena	UIC Pavilion

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

Roster

1997–98 UIC Flames men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G Mark Miller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr	Head coach Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 16, 1997*		at Louisiana Tech	W 73–68	1–0	Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, Louisiana
Nov 18, 1997*		Alabama State	W 86–64	2–0	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Nov 21, 1997* 8:00 p.m.		Michigan State	W 70–58	3–0	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Nov 24, 1997*		at Illinois	L 70–71	3–1	Assembly Hall (10,789) Champaign, Illinois
Nov 29, 1997*		Bowling Green	W 80–50	4–1	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Dec 2, 1997*		at Northern Illinois	W 79–73	5–1	Chick Evans Field House  DeKalb, Illinois
Dec 4, 1997*		vs. Western Illinois Montana Tournament	W 78–60	6–1	Brick Breeden Fieldhouse  Bozeman, Montana
Dec 6, 1997*		at Montana State Montana Tournament	W 80–70	7–1	Brick Breeden Fieldhouse  Bozeman, Montana
Dec 13, 1997*		Valparaiso	W 72–51	8–1	UIC Pavilion (3,466) Chicago, Illinois
Dec 16, 1997*		Illinois State	W 75–67	9–1	UIC Pavilion (5,640) Chicago, Illinois
Dec 20, 1997*		Louisiana Tech	W 72–58	10–1	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Dec 28, 1997*		Marquette	L 67–73	10–2	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Jan 3, 1998		at Butler	L 76–78	10–3 (0–1)	Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,531) Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 5, 1998		at Wright State	W 83–81	11–3 (1–1)	Ervin J. Nutter Center  Fairborn, Ohio
Jan 9, 1998		Cleveland State	W 83–67	12–3 (2–1)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Jan 11, 1998		Detroit	W 88–83	13–3 (3–1)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Jan 15, 1998		at UW-Milwaukee	W 72–63	14–3 (4–1)	Wisconsin Center Arena  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 19, 1998		at Wisconsin-Green Bay	W 60–58	15–3 (5–1)	Brown County Arena  Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin
Jan 24, 1998		at Loyola (IL)	W 61–55	16–3 (6–1)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena  Chicago, Illinois
Jan 29, 1998		Butler	W 72–62	17–3 (7–1)	UIC Pavilion (4,748) Chicago, Illinois
Jan 31, 1998		Wright State	W 82–70	18–3 (8–1)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Feb 7, 1998		at Detroit	L 58–76	18–4 (8–2)	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Feb 12, 1998		Wisconsin-Green Bay	W 56–47	19–4 (9–2)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Feb 14, 1998		UW-Milwaukee	W 92–68	20–4 (10–2)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
Feb 19, 1998		at Cleveland State	W 96–72	21–4 (11–2)	Henry J. Goodman Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
Feb 21, 1998		Loyola (IL)	W 74–58	22–4 (12–2)	UIC Pavilion  Chicago, Illinois
MCC tournament
Feb 28, 1998*		vs. Wright State Quarterfinals	L 73–74	22–5	Brown County Arena  Green Bay, Wisconsin
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1998*	(9 E)	vs. (8 E) UNC Charlotte First round	L 62–77	22–6	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time Zone.

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