1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 2–4, 1972 at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina. The East Carolina Pirates, led by head coach Tom Quinn, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1972 NCAA tournament.

1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Teams	8
Site	Greenville Memorial Auditorium Greenville, SC
Champions	East Carolina (1st title)
Winning coach	Tom Quinn (1st title)
Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments

1971–72 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Davidson	8	–	2		.800			19	–	9		.679
Furman	8	–	3		.727			17	–	11		.607
William & Mary	6	–	4		.600			10	–	17		.370
East Carolina †	7	–	5		.583			14	–	15		.483
The Citadel	5	–	6		.455			12	–	13		.480
Richmond	3	–	9		.250			6	–	19		.240
VMI	2	–	10		.167			6	–	19		.240
† Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Format

All of the conference's eight members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals March 2					Semifinals March 3					Finals March 4
	1	Davidson	87
	8	Appalachian State	77
						1	Davidson	77
						4	East Carolina	81
	4	East Carolina	80
	5	The Citadel	71
											2	Furman	75
											4	East Carolina	77*
	2	Furman	126
	7	VMI	80
						2	Furman	93
						3	William & Mary	74
	3	William & Mary	98
	6	Richmond	82

* Overtime game

See also

• List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions