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
1997–98 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Detroit122 .857256  .806
UIC122 .857226  .786
Butler86 .5712211  .667
Green Bay77 .5001712  .586
Cleveland State68 .4291215  .444
Loyola Chicago68 .4291515  .500
Wright State311 .2141018  .357
Milwaukee212 .143324  .111
1998 MCC tournament winner

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.

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

1997–98 Detroit Titans men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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

    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

    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.
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