| Year: | 1997 |
| Conference: | Northeast Conference |
| Gender: | Men's |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Finalarena: | Schwartz Athletic Center |
| Finalcity: | Brooklyn, NY |
| Champions: | Long Island |
| Titlecount: | 2nd |
| Coach: | Ray Haskins |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mvp: | Charles Jones |
| Mvpteam: | Long Island |
The 1997 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament was held in March. The tournament featured the league's ten teams, seeded based on their conference record. LIU Brooklyn won the championship, their second, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
The NEC Men's Basketball Tournament consisted of a ten-team playoff format with all games played at the venue of the higher seed. The first round was played by the four lowest seeds (7–10) and the other teams received a bye.
Tournament MVP in bold.[1]
| 1997 NEC All-Tournament Team | ||||||
| Charles Jones, LIU Corey Albano, MU Mustafa Barksdale, MU Mike Campbell, LIU Dave Masciale, LIU Richie Parker, LIU | ||||||