1997 SEC men's basketball tournament

The 1997 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament took place from March 6–9, 1997 at The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team won the tournament and the SEC’s automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament by defeating the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 95–68 in the championship game.[1][2]

1997 SEC men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1996–97
Teams12
SitePyramid Arena
Memphis, Tennessee
ChampionsKentucky Wildcats (21st title)
Winning coachRick Pitino (5th title)
MVPRon Mercer (Kentucky)
Attendance172,027
TelevisionJefferson Pilot Sports (1st Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals)
CBS (Championship game)
← 1996
1998 →
1996–97 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 6 South Carolina 15 1   .938 24 8   .750
No. 5 Kentucky 13 3   .813 35 5   .875
No. 17 Georgia 10 6   .625 24 9   .727
Vanderbilt 9 7   .563 19 12   .613
Florida 5 11   .313 13 17   .433
Tennessee 4 12   .250 11 16   .407
West
Ole Miss 11 5   .688 20 9   .690
Arkansas 8 8   .500 18 14   .563
Auburn 6 10   .375 16 15   .516
Alabama 6 10   .375 17 14   .548
Mississippi State 6 10   .375 12 18   .400
LSU 3 13   .188 10 20   .333
1997 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Television coverage

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The first round, the quarterfinals, and the semifinals were regionally televised and syndicated by Jefferson Pilot Sports. The championship game was televised nationally on CBS.

Tournament notes

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  • This was the second time that The Pyramid hosted the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
  • The 1997 tournament was Rick Pitino’s final tournament title win before he left the University of Kentucky to take a coaching job with the NBA's Boston Celtics.

Bracket

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First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship game
            
W4 Alabama 80
E5 Florida 66
E1 #4 South Carolina 72
W4 Alabama 61
E1 #4 South Carolina 63
E3 #24 Georgia 78
W2 Arkansas 63
E3 #24 Georgia 65
E3 #24 Georgia 75
W6 LSU 54
E3 #24 Georgia 68
E2 #6 Kentucky 95
E4 Vanderbilt 73
W5 Mississippi State 67
W1 Ole Miss 64
E4 Vanderbilt 62
W1 Ole Miss 70
E2 #6 Kentucky 88
E2 #6 Kentucky 92
W3 Auburn 50
W3 Auburn 67
E6 Tennessee 54

References

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