1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

The 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1997, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the RCA Dome. A total of 63 games were played.

1997 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	1996–97
Teams	64
Finals site	RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
Champions	Arizona Wildcats (1st title, 1st title game, 3rd Final Four)
Runner-up	Kentucky Wildcats (9th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Minnesota Golden Gophers (Vacated) (1st Final Four) North Carolina Tar Heels (13th Final Four)
Winning coach	Lute Olson (1st title)
MOP	Miles Simon (Arizona)
Attendance	646,531
Top scorer	Miles Simon (Arizona) (132 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1996 1998»

The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, who entered the tournament as the defending national champions, Minnesota, making their first Final Four appearance, Arizona, making their third Final Four appearance and first since 1994, and North Carolina, making their thirteenth Final Four appearance and first since 1995.

In the national championship game, Arizona defeated Kentucky in overtime 84–79 to win their first national championship. For the second time in the last three seasons, the defending national champions reached the final game and lost.

Miles Simon of Arizona was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Several years later, Minnesota was stripped of its Final Four appearance following the discovery of NCAA academic rule violations. In addition, the Gophers were stripped of their Big Ten title they had also won.^[1]

Arizona also became the only school since the introduction of the 64-team bracket in 1985,^[2] to defeat three number 1 seeds in the tournament, having upset overall number one seed Kansas in addition to their two Final Four victories.

The tournament also saw the third victory by a #15 seed over a #2 seed, as Coppin State defeated South Carolina in their first round matchup. In addition, a #14 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for only the second time, as Southeast Region #14 seed Chattanooga defeated both Georgia and Illinois.

The tournament marked the end of the career of North Carolina coach Dean Smith. Smith, whose team lost in the national semifinals, retired just prior to the beginning of the 1997–98 season.

Schedule and venues

Pittsburgh

Charlotte

Winston-Salem

Memphis

Auburn Hills

Kansas City

Salt Lake City

Tucson

1997 first and second rounds

San Jose

San Antonio

Birmingham

Syracuse

Indianapolis

1997 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1997 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

• March 13 and 15
  • East Region
    • Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Host: Wake Forest University)
  • Midwest Region
    • The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host: Mid-American Conference)
  • Southeast Region
    • Memphis Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee (Host: University of Memphis)
  • West Region
    • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
• March 14 and 16
  • East Region
    • Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: Duquesne University)
  • Midwest Region
    • Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: University of Kansas)
  • Southeast Region
    • Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: Davidson College)
  • West Region
    • McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 20 and 22
  • Midwest Regional, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)
  • West Regional, San Jose Arena, San Jose, California (Host: San Jose State University)
• March 21 and 23
  • East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)
  • Southeast Regional, BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 29 and 31
  • RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference)

Teams

There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 27 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10).

Two conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Charleston Southern (Big South) and Jackson State (SWAC).

Automatic qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	North Carolina	31st	1996
America East	Boston University	5th	1990
Atlantic 10	Saint Joseph's	15th	1986
Big 12	Kansas	26th	1996
Big East	Boston College	11th	1996
Big Sky	Montana	4th	1992
Big South	Charleston Southern	1st	Never
Big Ten	Minnesota (vacated)	–	1990
Big West	Pacific	5th	1979
CAA	Old Dominion	7th	1995
Conference USA	Marquette	21st	1996
Ivy League	Princeton	20th	1996
MAAC	Fairfield	3rd	1987
MAC	Miami (OH)	15th	1995
MCC	Butler	2nd	1962
MEAC	Coppin State	3rd	1993
Mid-Continent	Valparaiso	2nd	1996
Missouri Valley	Illinois State	5th	1990
NEC	Long Island	3rd	1984
Ohio Valley	Murray State	8th	1995
Pac-10	UCLA	32nd	1996
Patriot	Navy	10th	1994
SEC	Kentucky	38th	1996
Southern	Chattanooga	8th	1995
Southland	Southwest Texas State	2nd	1994
SWAC	Jackson State	1st	Never
Sun Belt	South Alabama	5th	1991
TAAC	College of Charleston	2nd	1994
WAC	Utah	19th	1996
West Coast	Saint Mary's	3rd	1989

Tournament seeds

East Regional – Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 North Carolina ACC 24–6 Automatic 2 South Carolina SEC 24–7 At-Large 3 New Mexico WAC 24–7 At-Large 4 Villanova Big East 23–9 At-Large 5 California Pac-10 21–8 At-Large 6 Louisville Conference USA 23–8 At-Large 7 Wisconsin Big Ten 18–9 At-Large 8 Indiana Big Ten 22–10 At-Large 9 Colorado Big 12 21–9 At-Large 10 Texas Big 12 16–11 At-Large 11 UMass Atlantic 10 19–13 At-Large 12 Princeton Ivy League 24–3 Automatic 13 Long Island NEC 21–8 Automatic 14 Old Dominion CAA 22–10 Automatic 15 Coppin State MEAC 21–8 Automatic 16 Fairfield MAAC 11–18 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Minnesota (vacated) Big Ten 27–3 Automatic 2 UCLA Pac-10 21–7 Automatic 3 Cincinnati Conference USA 25–7 At-Large 4 Clemson ACC 21–9 At-Large 5 Tulsa WAC 23–9 At-Large 6 Iowa State Big 12 20–8 At-Large 7 Xavier Atlantic 10 22–5 At-Large 8 Ole Miss SEC 20–8 At-Large 9 Temple Atlantic 10 19–10 At-Large 10 Vanderbilt SEC 19–11 At-Large 11 Illinois State Missouri Valley 24–5 Automatic 12 Boston University America East 25–4 Automatic 13 Miami (OH) MAC 21–8 Automatic 14 Butler MCC 23–9 Automatic 15 Charleston Southern Big South 17–12 Automatic 16 Southwest Texas State Southland 16–12 Automatic

Southeast Regional – BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Kansas Big 12 32–1 Automatic 2 Duke ACC 23–8 At-Large 3 Georgia SEC 24–8 At-Large 4 Arizona Pac-10 19–9 At-Large 5 Maryland ACC 21–10 At-Large 6 Illinois Big Ten 21–9 At-Large 7 Marquette Conference USA 22–8 Automatic 8 Purdue Big Ten 17–11 At-Large 9 Rhode Island Atlantic 10 20–9 At-Large 10 Providence Big East 21–11 At-Large 11 USC Pac-10 17–10 At-Large 12 College of Charleston TAAC 28–2 Automatic 13 South Alabama Sun Belt 23–6 Automatic 14 Chattanooga Southern 22–10 Automatic 15 Murray State Ohio Valley 20–9 Automatic 16 Jackson State SWAC 14–15 Automatic

West Regional – San Jose Arena, San Jose, California Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Kentucky SEC 30–4 Automatic 2 Utah WAC 26–3 Automatic 3 Wake Forest ACC 23–6 At-Large 4 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 24–6 Automatic 5 Boston College Big East 21–8 Automatic 6 Stanford Pac-10 20–7 At-Large 7 UNC Charlotte Conference USA 21–8 At-Large 8 Iowa Big Ten 21–9 At-Large 9 Virginia ACC 19–10 At-Large 10 Georgetown Big East 20–9 At-Large 11 Oklahoma Big 12 19–7 At-Large 12 Valparaiso Mid-Continent 24–6 Automatic 13 Pacific Big West 23–5 Automatic 14 Saint Mary's West Coast 23–7 Automatic 15 Navy Patriot 20–8 Automatic 16 Montana Big Sky 21–10 Automatic

Bids by conference

Bids by Conference
Bids	Conference(s)
6	ACC, Big Ten
5	Atlantic 10, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC
4	Big East, C-USA
3	WAC
1	21 others

Bracket

East Regional - Syracuse, New York

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	North Carolina	82
	16	Fairfield	74
						1	North Carolina	73
	Winston-Salem
						9	Colorado	56
	8	Indiana	62
	9	Colorado	80
											1	North Carolina	63
											5	California	57
	5	California	55
	12	Princeton	52
						5	California	75
	Winston-Salem
						4	Villanova	68
	4	Villanova	101
	13	Long Island	91
																1	North Carolina	97
																6	Louisville	74
	6	Louisville	65
	11	Massachusetts	57
						6	Louisville	64
	Pittsburgh
						3	New Mexico	63
	3	New Mexico	59
	14	Old Dominion	55
											6	Louisville	78
											10	Texas	63
	7	Wisconsin	58
	10	Texas	71
						10	Texas	82
	Pittsburgh
						15	Coppin State	81
	2	South Carolina	65
	15	Coppin State	78

Southeast Regional - Birmingham, Alabama

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kansas	78
	16	Jackson State	64
						1	Kansas	75
	Memphis
						8	Purdue	61
	8	Purdue	83OT
	9	Rhode Island	76
											1	Kansas	82
											4	Arizona	85
	5	Maryland	66
	12	College of Charleston	75
						12	College of Charleston	69
	Memphis
						4	Arizona	73
	4	Arizona	65
	13	South Alabama	57
																4	Arizona	96OT
																10	Providence	92
	6	Illinois	90
	11	USC	77
						6	Illinois	63
	Charlotte
						14	Chattanooga	75
	3	Georgia	70
	14	Chattanooga	73
											14	Chattanooga	65
											10	Providence	71
	7	Marquette	59
	10	Providence	81
						10	Providence	98
	Charlotte
						2	Duke	87
	2	Duke	71
	15	Murray State	68

Midwest Regional - San Antonio, Texas

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Minnesota#	78
	16	Southwest Texas State	46
						1	Minnesota#	76
	Kansas City
						9	Temple	57
	8	Ole Miss	40
	9	Temple	62
											1	Minnesota#	902OT
											4	Clemson	84
	5	Tulsa	81
	12	Boston University	52
						5	Tulsa	59
	Kansas City
						4	Clemson	65
	4	Clemson	68
	13	Miami (OH)	56
																1	Minnesota#	80
																2	UCLA	72
	6	Iowa State	69
	11	Illinois State	57
						6	Iowa State	67
	Auburn Hills
						3	Cincinnati	66
	3	Cincinnati	86
	14	Butler	69
											6	Iowa State	73
											2	UCLA	74OT
	7	Xavier	80
	10	Vanderbilt	68
						7	Xavier	83
	Auburn Hills
						2	UCLA	96
	2	UCLA	109
	15	Charleston Southern	75

West Regional - San Jose, California

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kentucky	92
	16	Montana	54
						1	Kentucky	75
	Salt Lake City
						8	Iowa	69
	8	Iowa	73
	9	Virginia	60
											1	Kentucky	83
											4	Saint Joseph's	68
	5	Boston College	73
	12	Valparaiso	66
						5	Boston College	77
	Salt Lake City
						4	Saint Joseph's	81OT
	4	Saint Joseph's	75
	13	Pacific	65
																1	Kentucky	72
																2	Utah	59
	6	Stanford	80
	11	Oklahoma	67
						6	Stanford	72
	Tucson
						3	Wake Forest	66
	3	Wake Forest	68
	14	Saint Mary's	46
											6	Stanford	77
											2	Utah	82OT
	7	Charlotte	79
	10	Georgetown	67
						7	Charlotte	58
	Tucson
						2	Utah	77
	2	Utah	75
	15	Navy	61

Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E1	North Carolina	58
	SE4	Arizona	66
						SE4	Arizona	84OT
						W1	Kentucky	79
	MW1	Minnesota#	69
	W1	Kentucky	78

# - Minnesota vacated all NCAA tournament wins from the 1996–97 season due to an academic fraud scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Minnesota removing the wins from its own record.

Announcers

• Bob Carpenter or Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Craig James – First & Second Round at Tucson, Arizona; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama; Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Carpenter called the first-round games at Tucson.
• Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Andrea Joyce – First & Second Round at Winston-Salem, North Carolina; West Regional at San Jose, California
• Tim Ryan/Al McGuire/Michele Tafoya – First & Second Round at Memphis, Tennessee; Midwest Regional at San Antonio, Texas
• Gus Johnson and Quinn Buckner – First & Second Round at Auburn Hills, Michigan; East Regional at Syracuse, New York
• Tim Brando and George Raveling – First & Second Round at Charlotte, North Carolina
• Mike Gorman and Jon Sundvold – First & Second Round at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Ted Robinson and Derrek Dickey – First & Second Round at Kansas City, Missouri
• Gary Thorne/Dan Bonner/Mike Mayock – First & Second Round at Salt Lake City, Utah

Pat O'Brien and Jim Nantz respectively served as the first round afternoon and evening studio hosts, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.

See also

• 1997 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1997 National Invitation Tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

References

1. "Minnesota Stripped Of Conference Championship". CBS News. November 21, 2000. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
2. "Bracket Question". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2018.