1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament

The 1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament took place March 3–8, 1997, at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. Coppin State defeated North Carolina A&T, 81–74 (OT) in the championship game, to win its second MEAC Tournament title.

1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season199697
Teams9
SiteJoseph G. Echols Memorial Hall
Norfolk, Virginia
ChampionsCoppin State (3rd title)
Winning coachFang Mitchell (3rd title)
MVPTerquin Mott (Coppin State)
1996–97 MEAC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Coppin State153 .833229  .710
South Carolina State126 .6671414  .500
North Carolina A&T117 .6111513  .536
Bethune–Cookman99 .5001216  .429
Morgan State810 .444918  .333
Florida A&M810 .444819  .296
Hampton711 .389819  .296
Delaware State711 .389720  .259
Howard711 .389720  .259
Maryland Eastern Shore612 .3331117  .393
1997 MEAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Eagles earned an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as #15 seed in the East region. In the round of 64, Coppin State upset #2 seed South Carolina 78–65. It was the first win for a MEAC team in the NCAA Tournament, the first time a #15 seed won an NCAA Tournament game by double figures, and only the third time a #15 seed beat a #2 seed.

Format

Nine of ten conference members participated, with the top 8 teams receiving a bye to the quarterfinal round.

Bracket

First round
March 3
Quarterfinals
March 5–6
Semifinals
March 7
Final
March 8
            
1 Coppin State 90
9 Maryland Eastern Shore 88
8 Howard 70
9 Maryland Eastern Shore 76
1 Coppin State 76
4 Bethune–Cookman 70
4 Bethune–Cookman 70
5 Florida A&M 61
1 Coppin State 81
3 North Carolina A&T 74OT
3 North Carolina A&T 65
6 Morgan State 54
3 North Carolina A&T 54
2 South Carolina State 49
2 South Carolina State 85
7 Delaware State 82OT

[2]

References

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