1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

1976–77 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
	† 1977 Sun Belt Conference Tournament winner ; Rankings from AP Poll

1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
Sun Belt Tournament champion
NCAA Tournament, 4th Place
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 17
1976–77 record	28–5 (5–1 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Lee Rose (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Everett Bass; Mike Pratt;
Home arena	Charlotte Coliseum; Belk Gymnasium (alternate)
	Seasons ← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The 1976–77 UNC Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 1976–77 college basketball season. This was head coach Lee Rose's second season at Charlotte. The 49ers competed in the Sun Belt Conference and played their home games at the original Charlotte Coliseum. They finished the season 28–5 (5–1 in Sun Belt play) and won the Sun Belt Tournament to receive a bid to the 1977 NCAA Tournament. The 49ers would defeat Central Michigan, No. 6 Syracuse,^[1] and No. 1 Michigan to reach the Final Four (to date, the only appearance in school history). Charlotte lost a 2-point game to the eventual national champion, Marquette, in the national semifinals before falling to UNLV in the consolation game.

Roster[]

1976–77 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	12	Jeff Gruber	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Jr	Cary, North Carolina
G	21	Chad Kinch	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Perth Amboy, New Jersey
G	22	Todd Crowley	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Charlotte, North Carolina
F	23	Lew Massey	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Jr	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	24	Lee Whitfield	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Charlotte, North Carolina
F	25	Kevin King	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Lakewood, New Jersey
F	31	Phil Scott	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Columbia, Maryland
G	32	Melvin Watkins	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Reidsville, North Carolina
C	33	Cedric Maxwell	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Sr	Kinston, North Carolina
F	43	Ken Angel	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Covington, Kentucky
F	44	Mike Hester	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Burlington, North Carolina

Head coach

Lee Rose

Assistant coach(es)

Everett Bass
Mike Pratt

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[2]

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 27, 1976*	No. 19	Georgia College	W 111–63	1–0	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 1, 1976*	No. 20	Eastern Kentucky	W 104–62	2–0	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 4, 1976*	No. 20	at No. 15 Tennessee	L 67–69	2–1	Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 6, 1976*		Morehead State	W 75–68	3–1	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 11, 1976*		at New Mexico State Roadrunner Classic	W 85–81	4–1	Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 12, 1976*		vs. Lamar Roadrunner Classic	W 91–86	5–1	Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 18, 1976*		at Charleston Southern	W 107–58	6–1	CSU Fieldhouse North Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 29, 1976*		Brown Charlotte Classic	W 97–81	7–1	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 30, 1976*		New Hampshire Charlotte Classic	W 104–68	8–1	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 8, 1977*		at UC Santa Barbara	W 80–69	9–1	Rob Gym Santa Barbara, California
Jan 15, 1977*		Charleston Southern	W 120–87	10–1	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 19, 1977*		at Appalachian State	W 87–59	11–1	Varsity Gymnasium Boone, North Carolina
Jan 22, 1977*		at No. 9 Wake Forest	L 72–74	11–2	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1977*		at Rollins	W 91–76	12–2	Winter Park, Florida
Jan 26, 1977*		Georgia Southern	W 93–77	13–2	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 29, 1977*		at Florida State	W 76–65	14–2	Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 31, 1977*		UNC Wilmington	W 83–70	15–2	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 5, 1977*		at Saint Francis (PA)	L 87–96	15–3	DeGol Arena Loretto, Pennsylvania
Feb 12, 1977*		at Southern Mississippi	W 102–72	16–3	Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Feb 15, 1977*		Birmingham–Southern	W 87–74	17–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 19, 1977*		at Seton Hall	W 85–75	18–3	Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, New Jersey
Feb 21, 1977*		at Samford	W 95–81	19–3	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 26, 1977*		Buffalo State	W 83–72	20–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 28, 1977*		Creighton	W 85–67	21–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 2, 1977*		at Marshall	W 84–80	22–3	Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, West Virginia
Mar 4, 1977*		Virginia Commonwealth	W 87–72	23–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Sun Belt Tournament
Mar 8, 1977*	No. 18	Jacksonville	W 74–69	24–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 9, 1977*	No. 18	New Orleans	W 71–70	25–3	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1977*	No. 18	vs. Central Michigan Mideast Regional Quarterfinal	W 91–86 ^OT	26–3	Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 17, 1977*	No. 17	vs. No. 6 Syracuse Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 81–59^[1]	27–3	Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 19, 1977*	No. 17	vs. No. 1 Michigan Mideast Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 75–68	28–3	Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 26, 1977*	No. 17	vs. No. 7 Marquette National Semifinal – Final Four	L 49–51	28–4	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 28, 1977*	No. 17	vs. No. 4 UNLV National 3rd Place Game	L 94–106	28–5	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[3]

Rankings[]

^[4]

Awards and honors[]

Cedric Maxwell – Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
Lee Rose – Sporting News Coach of the Year, Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year

Players in the 1977 NBA Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	12	Cedric Maxwell	Boston Celtics
4	68	Melvin Watkins	Buffalo Braves

^[5]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Charlotte Advances With Michigan". The New York Times. March 18, 1977. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
^ "1976-77 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^ "Results for 1976-77". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 836–837. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
^ "1977 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[ncaa-syr-1] "Charlotte Advances With Michigan". The New York Times. March 18, 1977. Retrieved June 13, 2021.

[2] "1976-77 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[3] "Results for 1976-77". UNC Charlotte Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[ESPN-4] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 836–837. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[5] "1977 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t Charlotte 49ers men's basketball
Venues	Local high school gyms (1965–1970) Belk Gymnasium (1970–1976; alternate, 1976–1996) Bojangles' Coliseum (1976–1988, 1993–1996) Charlotte Coliseum (1988–1993) Dale F. Halton Arena (1996–present) Spectrum Center (alternate, 2007–present)
Culture & lore	Norm the Niner
People	Head coaches
	1976–77 2009–10 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

1976–77 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 17 UNC Charlotte †	5	–	1	.833	28	–	5	.848
New Orleans	4	–	2	.667	18	–	10	.643
South Alabama	3	–	3	.500	17	–	10	.630
Jacksonville	2	–	4	.333	10	–	19	.345
South Florida	2	–	4	.333	9	–	18	.333
Georgia State	2	–	4	.333	10	–	18	.357

† 1977 Sun Belt Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll