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.
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.
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1997 tournament:
First and Second Rounds
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
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).
# - 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.
Pat O'Brien and Jim Nantz respectively served as the first round afternoon and evening studio hosts, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.
