1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament

1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1996–97
Teams	9
Site	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia
Champions	Coppin State (3rd title)
Winning coach	Fang Mitchell (3rd title)
MVP	Terquin Mott (Coppin State)
MEAC men's basketball tournaments

1996–97 MEAC men's basketball standings

v t e	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 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.

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	74^OT
						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	82^OT

^[2]

References

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.