1997 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1997 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 5–8 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[2]

1997 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1996–97
Teams12
SiteKiel Center
St. Louis, MO
ChampionsMarquette (1st title)
Winning coachMike Deane (1st title)
MVPAaron Hutchins (Marquette)
1996–97 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Blue
No. 10 Cincinnati12–2 .857  26–8  .765
Marquette †9–5 .643  22–9  .710
Saint Louis4–10 .286  11–18  .379
DePaul1–13 .071  3–23  .115
Red
Tulane11–3 .786  20–11  .645
UAB7–7 .500  18–14  .563
Southern Miss6–8 .429  12–15  .444
South Florida2–12 .143  8–19  .296
White
Charlotte10–4 .714  22–9  .710
Memphis10–4 .714  16–15  .516
No. 25 Louisville9–5 .643  26–9  .743
Houston3–11 .214  11–16  .407
† 1997 Conference USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Marquette defeated UNC Charlotte in the championship game, 60–52, to clinch their first Conference USA men's tournament championship.

The Golden Eagles, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow C-USA members UNC Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Louisville, who all earned at-large bids.

Format

With Houston officially joining Conference USA prior to 1996–97 season, total membership increased to twelve. The Cougars were entered directly into the conference's three four-team division structure, being placed into the White Division.

With the addition of Houston, the tournament field expanded from eleven to twelve. Nonetheless, the overall structure remained largely the same: the top four teams were given byes into the quarterfinal round, and the remaining eight teams were entered into the preliminary round. All seeds were determined by regular season conference records, regardless of division.

Bracket
  First Round
Wednesday, March 5		 Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 6		 Semifinals
Friday, March 7		 Championship
Saturday, March 8
                                     
       
  1 #10 Cincinnati 71  
    9 Saint Louis 43  
9 Saint Louis 69
8 Southern Miss 61  
  1 #10 Cincinnati 79  
  5 Marquette 91  
5 Marquette 79  
12 DePaul 53  
  5 Marquette 63
    4 Memphis 45  
     
       
  5 Marquette 60
  3 UNC Charlotte 52
       
       
  3 UNC Charlotte 64
    6 #20 Louisville 60  
11 South Florida 58
6 #20 Louisville 69  
  3 UNC Charlotte 67
  7 UAB 65  
7 UAB 55  
10 Houston 54  
  7 UAB 74
    2 Tulane 70  
     
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References
  1. sports-reference.com 1996-97 Conference USA Season Summary
  2. "1996-97 Conference USA Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
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