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
Season1996–97
Teams9
SiteJoseph G. Echols Memorial Hall
Norfolk, Virginia
ChampionsCoppin State (3rd title)
Winning coachFang Mitchell (3rd title)
MVPTerquin Mott (Coppin State)
← 1996
1998 →
1996–97 MEAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Coppin State 15 3   .833 22 9   .710
South Carolina State 12 6   .667 14 14   .500
North Carolina A&T 11 7   .611 15 13   .536
Bethune–Cookman 9 9   .500 12 16   .429
Morgan State 8 10   .444 9 18   .333
Florida A&M 8 10   .444 8 19   .296
Hampton 7 11   .389 8 19   .296
Delaware State 7 11   .389 7 20   .259
Howard 7 11   .389 7 20   .259
Maryland Eastern Shore 6 12   .333 11 17   .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

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

Bracket

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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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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "MEAC Men's Basketball 2019–2020 Record Book" (PDF). Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Retrieved March 17, 2020.