1997 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament

August 2023 1997 Sun Belt Conference I Men's 200px 10 Barton Coliseum Little Rock, AR South Alabama 3rd Bill Musselman 1st Rusty Yoder South Alabama The 1997 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was held February 28–March 4 at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas.1996–97 Sun Belt Conference Season Summary sports-reference.com Sports Reference LLC 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/sun-belt/1997.html April 25, 2016 South Alabama defeated 1996 none Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech in the championship game, 44–43, to win their third Sun Belt men's basketball tournament. The Jaguars, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament. No other Sun Belt members were invited to the tournament. Format No teams left or joined the Sun Belt before the season, leaving conference membership fixed at ten teams. All teams participated in the tournament, maintaining its ten-team format. With all teams seeded based on regular-season conference records, the top six teams were all placed directly into the quarterfinal round while the four lowest-seeded teams were placed into the preliminary first round. Bracket First roundFriday, February 28 QuarterfinalsSaturday, March 1 SemifinalsSunday, March 2 ChampionshipTuesday, March 4 high yes 9 1996 Jacksonville Dolphins Jacksonville 101 8 1996 Arkansas State Indians Arkansas State 80 7 1996 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Southwestern Louisiana 56 10 1996 Texas–Pan American Broncs Texas–Pan American 53 1 1996 New Orleans Privateers New Orleans 76 9 Jacksonville 63 5 1996 none Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech 64 4 1996 none Lamar Cardinals Lamar 62 3 1996 Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans Arkansas–Little Rock 68 6 1996 none Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Western Kentucky 62 7 Southwestern Louisiana 39 2 South Alabama 66 1 New Orleans 53 5 Louisiana Tech 59 3 Arkansas–Little Rock 52 2 South Alabama 71 5 Louisiana Tech 43 2 South Alabama 44 See also Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament References Category:Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Tournament Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament