| Year: | 1997 |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Men's |
| Teams: | 6 |
| Arena: | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| City: | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Champions: | Southwest Texas State Bobcats |
| Titlecount: | 2nd |
| Coach: | Mike Miller |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mvp: | Dameon Sansom |
| Mvpteam: | Southwest Texas State |
The 1997 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–8 at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]
Southwest Texas State defeated in the championship game, 74–64, to win their second Southland men's basketball tournament.
The Bobcats received a bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest region.
Six of the ten conference members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top two seeds receiving a bye to the semifinal round. Tournament play began with the quarterfinal round.