1997 Big East men's basketball tournament

Last updated

1997 Big East men's basketball tournament
Classification Division I
Season 199697
Teams13
Site Madison Square Garden
New York City
Champions Boston College (1st title)
Winning coach Jim O'Brien (1st title)
MVP Scoonie Penn (Boston College)
  1996
1998  
1996–97 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Big East 6
No. 20 Villanova 126 .6672410  .706
No. 23 Boston College126 .667229  .710
West Virginia 117 .6112110  .677
Notre Dame 810 .4441614  .533
St. John's 810 .4441315  .464
Connecticut 711 .3891815  .545
Big East 7
Georgetown 117 .6112010  .667
Providence 108 .5562412  .667
Pittsburgh 108 .5561815  .545
Miami 99 .5001613  .552
Syracuse 99 .5001913  .594
Seton Hall 513 .2781018  .357
Rutgers 513 .2781116  .407
1997 Big East tournament winner
As of March 31, 1997 [1] [2] [3]
Rankings from AP poll

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.

Contents

Boston College defeated Villanova in the final, 7058 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 Villanova73
4 Providence 63
4 Providence 77
13 Rutgers 56
4 Providence76
5 West Virginia 69
5 West Virginia 77
12 Seton Hall 57
1 #21 Villanova 58
3 Boston College70
3 Boston College 76
6 Pittsburgh 68
6 Pittsburgh 63
11 Connecticut 62
3 Boston College70
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 June 3, 2009.