# 1997 Big 12 men's basketball tournament

The 1997 Big 12 men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big 12 Conference. It was played from March 6 to 9 in Kansas City, Missouri at Kemper Arena. Kansas won the tournament for the 1st time and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament.

## Seeding

The tournament consisted of a 12 team single-elimination tournament with the top 4 seeds receiving a bye.
1997 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament seeds :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Kansas ‡# | 15–1 | 34–2 | |
| 2 | Texas # | 10–6 | 18–12 | |
| 3 | Colorado # | 11–5 | 22–10 | |
| 4 | Iowa State # | 10–6 | 22–9 | 1–0 vs. Texas Tech |
| 5 | Texas Tech | 10–6 | 19–9 | 0–1 vs. Iowa State |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 9–7 | 19–11 | |
| 7 | Nebraska | 7–9 | 18–15 | 1–0 vs. Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 7–9 | 17–15 | 0–1 vs. Nebraska |
| 9 | Baylor | 6–10 | 18–12 | |
| 10 | Missouri | 5–11 | 16–17 | |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 3–13 | 9–18 | 1–0 vs. Kansas State |
| 12 | Kansas State | 3–13 | 10–17 | 0–1 vs. Texas A&M |
| ‡ – Big 12 Conference regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. # – Received a single-bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games played in the Big 12 Conference tournament. ||||||||||

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time | Matchup | Television | Attendance |
| First Round – Thursday, March 6 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 12:00 PM | #8 Oklahoma State 80 vs #9 Baylor 66 | Creative Sports | 19,100 |
| 1 | 2 | 2:20 PM | #5 Texas Tech 73 vs #12 Kansas State 57 | Creative Sports | 19,100 |
| 2 | 3 | 6:00 PM | #10 Missouri 78 vs #7 Nebraska 72 | Creative Sports | 18,800 |
| 2 | 4 | 8:20 PM | #6 Oklahoma 67 vs #11 Texas A&M 58 | Creative Sports | 18,800 |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 7 ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 12:00 PM | #1 Kansas 74 vs #8 Oklahoma State 59 | Creative Sports | 18,800 |
| 3 | 6 | 2:20 PM | #4 Iowa State 72 vs #5 Texas Tech 70 | Creative Sports | 18,800 |
| 4 | 7 | 6:00 PM | #10 Missouri 80 vs #2 Texas 75 | Creative Sports | 19,100 |
| 4 | 8 | 8:20 PM | #6 Oklahoma 55 vs #3 Colorado 41 | Creative Sports | 19,100 |
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 8 ||||||
| 5 | 9 | 1:00 PM | #1 Kansas 72 vs #4 Iowa State 48 | Creative Sports | 19,310 |
| 5 | 10 | 3:20 PM | #10 Missouri 89 vs #6 Oklahoma 80 | Creative Sports | 19,310 |
| Final – Sunday, March 9 ||||||
| 6 | 11 | 12:00 PM | #1 Kansas 87 vs #10 Missouri 60 | CBS | 19,310 |
| Game times in CT. #-Rankings denote tournament seed ||||||

## Bracket

| First round Thursday, March 6 | First round Thursday, March 6 | First round Thursday, March 6 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 7 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 7 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 7 | Semifinals Saturday, March 8 | Semifinals Saturday, March 8 | Semifinals Saturday, March 8 | Championship Sunday, March 9 | Championship Sunday, March 9 | Championship Sunday, March 9 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 80 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Baylor | 66 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Baylor | 66 | 1 | No. 1 Kansas | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Oklahoma St. | 59 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | No. 1 Kansas | 72 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | No. 16 Iowa State | 48 | | | |
| | | | 4 | No. 16 Iowa St | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Texas Tech | 70 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Texas Tech | 73 | 5 | Texas Tech | 70 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Kansas State | 57 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Kansas State | 57 | | | | | | | 1 | No. 1 Kansas | 87 |
| | | | | | | | | | 10 | Missouri | 60 |
| 10 | Missouri | 78 | | | | | | | | | | 10 | Missouri | 60 |
| 7 | Nebraska | 72 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nebraska | 72 | 10 | Missouri | 80 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Texas | 75 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 10 | Missouri | 89 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Oklahoma | 80 | | | |
| | | | 6 | Oklahoma | 55 | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | No. 18 Colorado | 41 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 67 | 3 | No. 18 Colorado | 41 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 58 | | | | | | | | | |

## All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player – Paul Pierce, Kansas
| Player | Team | Position | Class |
| Paul Pierce | Kansas | So. | F |
| Raef LaFrentz | Kansas | Jr. | F |
| Jacque Vaughn | Kansas | Sr. | G |
| Jason Sutherland | Missouri | Sr. | G |
| Corey Brewer | Oklahoma | Jr. | G |