1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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. The 59th annual edition of the tournament 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.

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.

Arizona also became the only school since the introduction of the 64-team bracket in 1985, 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

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 qualifiersConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCNorth Carolina31st1996America EastBoston University5th1990Atlantic 10Saint Joseph's15th1986Big 12Kansas26th1996Big EastBoston College11th1996Big SkyMontana4th1992Big SouthCharleston Southern1stBig TenMinnesota (vacated)–1990Big WestPacific5th1979CAAOld Dominion7th1995Conference USAMarquette21st1996Ivy LeaguePrinceton20th1996MAACFairfield3rd1987MACMiami (OH)15th1995MCCButler2nd1962MEACCoppin State3rd1993Mid-ContinentValparaiso2nd1996Missouri ValleyIllinois State5th1990NECLong Island3rd1984Ohio ValleyMurray State8th1995Pac-10UCLA32nd1996PatriotNavy10th1994SECKentucky38th1996SouthernChattanooga8th1995SouthlandSouthwest Texas State2nd1994SWACJackson State1stSun BeltSouth Alabama5th1991TAACCollege of Charleston2nd1994WACUtah19th1996West CoastSaint Mary's3rd1989

Tournament seeds +East Regional – Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New YorkSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1North CarolinaACC24–6Automatic2South CarolinaSEC24–7At-Large3New MexicoWAC24–7At-Large4VillanovaBig East23–9At-Large5CaliforniaPac-1021–8At-Large6LouisvilleConference USA23–8At-Large7WisconsinBig Ten18–9At-Large8IndianaBig Ten22–10At-Large9ColoradoBig 1221–9At-Large10TexasBig 1216–11At-Large11UMassAtlantic 1019–13At-Large12PrincetonIvy League24–3Automatic13Long IslandNEC21–8Automatic14Old DominionCAA22–10Automatic15Coppin StateMEAC21–8Automatic16FairfieldMAAC11–18Automatic+Midwest Regional – Alamodome, San Antonio, TexasSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1Minnesota (vacated)Big Ten27–3Automatic2UCLAPac-1021–7Automatic3CincinnatiConference USA25–7At-Large4ClemsonACC21–9At-Large5TulsaWAC23–9At-Large6Iowa StateBig 1220–8At-Large7XavierAtlantic 1022–5At-Large8Ole MissSEC20–8At-Large9TempleAtlantic 1019–10At-Large10VanderbiltSEC19–11At-Large11Illinois StateMissouri Valley24–5Automatic12Boston UniversityAmerica East25–4Automatic13Miami (OH)MAC21–8Automatic14ButlerMCC23–9Automatic15Charleston SouthernBig South17–12Automatic16Southwest Texas StateSouthland16–12Automatic+Southeast Regional – BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, AlabamaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1KansasBig 1232–1Automatic2DukeACC23–8At-Large3GeorgiaSEC24–8At-Large4ArizonaPac-1019–9At-Large5MarylandACC21–10At-Large6IllinoisBig Ten21–9At-Large7MarquetteConference USA22–8Automatic8PurdueBig Ten17–11At-Large9Rhode IslandAtlantic 1020–9At-Large10ProvidenceBig East21–11At-Large11USCPac-1017–10At-Large12College of CharlestonTAAC28–2Automatic13South AlabamaSun Belt23–6Automatic14ChattanoogaSouthern22–10Automatic15Murray StateOhio Valley20–9Automatic16Jackson StateSWAC14–15Automatic+West Regional – San Jose Arena, San Jose, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1KentuckySEC30–4Automatic2UtahWAC26–3Automatic3Wake ForestACC23–6At-Large4Saint Joseph'sAtlantic 1024–6Automatic5Boston CollegeBig East21–8Automatic6StanfordPac-1020–7At-Large7UNC CharlotteConference USA21–8At-Large8IowaBig Ten21–9At-Large9VirginiaACC19–10At-Large10GeorgetownBig East20–9At-Large11OklahomaBig 1219–7At-Large12ValparaisoMid-Continent24–6Automatic13PacificBig West23–5Automatic14Saint Mary'sWest Coast23–7Automatic15NavyPatriot20–8Automatic16MontanaBig Sky21–10Automatic

Bids by conference Bids by ConferenceBidsConference(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

Southeast Regional - Birmingham, Alabama

Midwest Regional - San Antonio, Texas

West Regional - San Jose, California

Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana

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 and Nantz called the second-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

References