1997–98 South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball team

1997–98 South Carolina State Bulldogs men's basketball
1997–98 South Carolina State Bulldogs men's basketball
MEAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	22–8 (16–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Cy Alexander (11th season);
Home arena	SHM Memorial Center
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball team represented South Carolina State University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Cy Alexander, played their home games at the SHM Memorial Center and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The team won the conference tournament title, defeating regular season champion Coppin State, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

1997–98 MEAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Coppin State	17	–	1	.944	21	–	8	.724
South Carolina State †	16	–	2	.889	22	–	8	.733
Hampton	11	–	7	.611	14	–	12	.538
Morgan State	11	–	7	.611	12	–	16	.429
Florida A&M	8	–	10	.444	11	–	17	.393
Delaware State	7	–	11	.389	9	–	18	.333
Maryland Eastern Shore	7	–	11	.389	9	–	18	.333
North Carolina A&T	7	–	11	.389	8	–	19	.296
Howard	5	–	13	.278	8	–	20	.286
Bethune–Cookman	1	–	17	.056	1	–	26	.037
Norfolk State	0	–	0	–	6	–	21	.222

† 1998 MEAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

As the No. 15 seed in the Southeast region, S.C. State lost to No. 2 seed and eventual National champion Kentucky in the opening round,^[2] and finished with a record of 22–8 (16–2 MEAC).

Roster

1997–98 South Carolina State Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	12	Roderick Blakney	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Hartsville, South Carolina

Head coach

Cy Alexander

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1997*		at No. 1 Duke	L 40–98	0–2	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina
Dec 20, 1997*		at NC State	L 67–68	1–3	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
Dec 23, 1997*		at No. 10 South Carolina	L 85–90	1–4	Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina
Dec 28, 1997*		at No. 21 Clemson	L 60–84	1–5	Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina
MEAC tournament
Mar 4, 1998*		vs. North Carolina A&T Quarterfinals	W 64–58	20–7	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia
Mar 6, 1998*		vs. Morgan State Semifinals	W 82–69	21–7	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia
Mar 7, 1998*		vs. Coppin State Championship game	W 66–61	22–7	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1998*	(15 SE)	vs. (2 SE) No. 5 Kentucky First round	L 67–82	22–8	Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[3]

References

↑ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Season Summary
↑ "Kentucky Dominates South Carolina State". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
↑ "1997-98 South Carolina State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[1] sports-reference.com 1997-98 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Season Summary

[2] "Kentucky Dominates South Carolina State". The New York Times. March 14, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

[3] "1997-98 South Carolina State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

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