1997 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1997 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. All 13 Big East teams were invited to participate. Boston College and Villanova finished with the best record in the regular season. After tie-breakers, Villanova was awarded the top seed.

1997 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1996–97
Teams13
SiteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsBoston College (1st title)
Winning coachJim O'Brien (1st title)
MVPScoonie Penn (Boston College)
1996–97 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Big East 6
No. 20 Villanova12–6 .667  24–10  .706
No. 23 Boston College†12–6 .667  22–9  .710
West Virginia11–7 .611  21–10  .677
Notre Dame8–10 .444  16–14  .533
St. John's8–10 .444  13–15  .464
Connecticut7–11 .389  18–15  .545
Big East 7
Georgetown11–7 .611  20–10  .667
Providence10–8 .556  24–12  .667
Pittsburgh10–8 .556  18–15  .545
Miami9–9 .500  16–13  .552
Syracuse9–9 .500  19–13  .594
Seton Hall5–13 .278  10–18  .357
Rutgers5–13 .278  11–16  .407
† 1997 Big East Tournament winner
As of March 31, 1997[1][2][3]; Rankings from AP Poll

Boston College defeated Villanova in the final, 70–58 to earn its first Big East Tournament championship. Future NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb participated in the tournament as a reserve forward for Syracuse.

Bracket
  First round Second round Semifinals Championship Game
                                     
       
  1 #21 Villanova 80  
    8 Syracuse 70  
8 Syracuse 84
9 Notre Dame 66  
  1 #21 Villanova 73  
  4 Providence 63  
4 Providence 77  
13 Rutgers 56  
  4 Providence 76
    5 West Virginia 69  
5 West Virginia 77
12 Seton Hall 57  
  1 #21 Villanova 58
  3 Boston College 70
       
       
  3 Boston College 76
    6 Pittsburgh 68  
6 Pittsburgh 63
11 Connecticut 62  
  3 Boston College 70
  2 Georgetown 58  
       
       
  2 Georgetown 63
    7 Miami 59  
7 Miami 76OT
10 St. John's 68  

Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Scoonie Penn, Boston College

All-Tournament Team

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References

General: "2008-09 Big East Media Guide" (PDF). pp. 136–138. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-03.

  1. sports-reference.com 1996-97 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
  3. "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
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