Champions Tennessee (5th title) Teams 64 | Start date 1997 Finals site U.S. Bank Arena | |
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Runner-up Old Dominion (2nd title game) Semifinalists Stanford (6th Final Four)
Notre Dame (1st Final Four) Champion Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball Similar 1998 NCAA Division I, 1996 NCAA Division I, 1995 NCAA Division I, 2002 NCAA Division I, 2000 NCAA Division I | ||
The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified to the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.
Contents
Tournament records
Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Thirty conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament.
Qualifying teams – at-large
Thirty-four additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.
Bids by conference
Thirty conferences earned an automatic bid. In eighteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-four additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.
First and second rounds
In 1997, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 22 to March 24 at these sites:
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 28 and March 30 in Cincinnati at the Riverfront Coliseum
Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. California had the most teams with five bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.
Brackets
Data source
East Region
NOTE: George Washington was a host as a #5 seed, as #4 seed Tulane's facility was considered inadequate by the NCAA.
Final Four
E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West.
Record by conference
Thirteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:
Seventeen conferences went 0-1: America East, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Midwestern Collegiate, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, SWAC, and Trans America