The 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the

1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1997, and ended with the champi ...

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 Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and featured the West Regional Champion and defending national champion, #1-seeded

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

versus the Southeast Regional Champion, #4-seeded

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. 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 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Arizona effectively denied Kentucky a potential three-peat from 1996 to 1998. This was the final national championship won by the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

, which folded in 2024.

Participating teams

Arizona Wildcats

*Southeast **(4) Arizona 65, (13) South Alabama 57 **(4) Arizona 73, (12) College of Charleston 69 **(4) Arizona 85, (1) Kansas 82 **(4) Arizona 96, (10) Providence 92 *Final Four **(SE4) Arizona 66, (E1) North Carolina 58

Kentucky Wildcats

*West **(1) Kentucky 92, (16) Montana 58 **(1) Kentucky 75, (8) Iowa 69 **(1) Kentucky 83, (4) Saint Joseph's 68 **(1) Kentucky 72, (2) Utah 59 *Final Four **(W1) Kentucky 78, (MW1) Minnesota 69

Starting lineups

Game summary

References

{{1997 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Arizona Wildcats men's basketball Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball College basketball tournaments in Indiana Basketball competitions in Indianapolis NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game 1990s in Indianapolis