1997 NCAA Tournament Championship Game

National championship game
Arizona Wildcats Kentucky Wildcats Pac-10 SEC (24–9) (35–4) 84 79 Head coach: Lute Olson Head coach: Rick Pitino
AP: 15 Coaches: 13 AP: 5 Coaches: 4
1st half 2nd half OT Total Arizona Wildcats 33 41 10 84 Kentucky Wildcats 32 42 5 79
Date	March 31, 1997
Venue	RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP	Miles Simon, Arizona
Favorite	Kentucky by 7
Referees	Tim Higgins, Ted Valentine, and Tom O'Neil
Attendance	47,028
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Jim Nantz (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color) Michele Tafoya and Andrea Joyce (sideline)
←  1996 1998  →

The 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1996–97 season. The game was played on March 31, 1997, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana and featured the West Regional Champion and defending national champion, #1-seeded Kentucky versus the Southeast Regional Champion, #4-seeded Arizona.

Contents

• Participating teams
• Arizona Wildcats
• Kentucky Wildcats
• Starting lineups
• Game summary
• References

Arizona defeated Kentucky 84–79 in overtime to win their first national championship in school history. Due to Kentucky coming back to win the national championship in 1998, Arizona effectively denied Kentucky a potential three-peat from 1996 to 1998.

This was the most recent national championship won by the Pac-12 Conference.

Participating teams

Starting lineups

Source

Game summary

CBS

Monday, March 31

Box score

#SE4 Arizona Wildcats84, #W1 Kentucky Wildcats 79 (OT)
Scoring by half:33–32, 41–42  Overtime:10–5
Pts: Miles Simon 30 Rebs: Mike Bibby 9 Asts: Jason Terry 5		Pts: Scott Padgett 17 Rebs: Nazr Mohammed 11 Asts: Ron Mercer 6

RCA Dome – Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 47,028 Referees: Tim Higgins, Ted Valentine and Tom O'Neil

Starters: Pts Reb Ast G 34 Miles Simon 30 3 6 G 10 Mike Bibby 25 1 1 F 21 Bennett Davison 16 5 0 F 42 A. J. Bramlett 12 10 1 F 23 Michael Dickerson 8 5 3 Reserves: G 31 Jason Terry 2 4 1 F 13 Donnell Harris 3 1 1 F 33 Eugene Edgerson 0 0 0 Head coach: Lute Olson

Arizona Kentucky 0 Arizona Statistics Kentucky 22/58 (38%) Field goals 30/72 (42%) 6/13 (46%) 3-pt. field goals 10/30 (33%) 34/41 (83%) Free throws 9/17 (53%) 16 Offensive rebounds 17 27 Defensive rebounds 23 43 Total rebounds 40 12 Assists 18 18 Turnovers 16 7 Steals 9 2 Blocks 7 16 Fouls 29

Starters: Pts Reb Ast G/F 33 Ron Mercer 13 9 6 G 25 Anthony Epps 11 5 4 F 34 Scott Padgett 17 1 0 G 5 Wayne Turner 23 11 1 C 42 Jamaal Magloire 0 4 1 Reserves: C 13 Nazr Mohammed 12 11 0 G 21 Cameron Mills 12 1 1 F 32 Jared Prickett 6 5 1 G/F 3 Allen Edwards 0 0 1 Head coach: Rick Pitino

References