1997 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1997 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 6-9, 1997 in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum. In what would be Coach Dean Smith's last season as the head coach of The University of North Carolina, his Tar Heels won the tournament, defeating a surprising NC State team in the final.

NC State became the first team in ACC history to advance past the quarterfinal round after playing in the play-in game. The ACC adopted the play-in game format in 1992 when Florida State joined the conference. After defeating top seed Duke in the quarterfinals, NC State surprisingly defeated #5 seed Maryland to advance to the championship game. Their Cinderella run through the tournament ended against rival North Carolina in the final. The 1997 NC State Wolfpack remained the lowest seeded team to ever make the ACC Tournament Final, until the 2007 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Shammond Williams was the tournament mvp.

Bracket

4RoundBracket-Byes
RD1=First Round
March 6, 1997
RD2=Quarterfinals
March 7, 1997
RD3=Semifinals
March 8, 1997
RD4=Championship Game
March 9, 1997

RD1-seed01=8
RD1-team01=NC State
RD1-score01=60
RD1-seed02=9
RD1-team02=Georgia Tech
RD1-score02=46

RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=Duke
RD2-score01=60
RD2-seed02=8
RD2-team02=NC State
RD2-score02=66

RD2-seed03=4
RD2-team03=Maryland
RD2-score03=76
RD2-seed04=5
RD2-team04=Clemson
RD2-score04=61

RD2-seed05=2
RD2-team05=Wake Forest
RD2-score05=66
RD2-seed06=7
RD2-team06=Florida State
RD2-score06=65

RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=North Carolina
RD2-score07=78
RD2-seed08=6
RD2-team08=Virginia
RD2-score08=68

RD3-seed01=8
RD3-team01=NC State
RD3-score01=65
RD3-seed02=5
RD3-team02=Maryland
RD3-score02=58

RD3-seed03=2
RD3-team03=Wake Forest
RD3-score03=73
RD3-seed04=3
RD3-team04=North Carolina
RD3-score04=86

RD4-seed01=8
RD4-team01=NC State
RD4-score01=54
RD4-seed02=3
RD4-team02=North Carolina
RD4-score02=64

See also

* List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament champions
* 1996 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
* 1998 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament

External links

* [http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/110299aan.html ACC Basketball Archive]