1977 NIT Basketball Tournament

The 1977 NIT Tournament saw For the first time games played away from Madison Square Garden; The first round games were played at campus sites, with Creighton having the honor of being the first team to host an NIT game on March 8. The field returned to 16 teams after a year at 12 teams. The championship semifinals and championship games were still held at Madison Square Gardens in New York. Saint Bonaventure coached by Jim Satalin defeated Houton 95 to 91 to win the tournament. The tournament MVP was Greg Sanders of St. Bonatenture.

1977 NIT Tournament at Madison Square Gardens

Seed	Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
1	Alabama	25-6	Southeastern Conference
2	St. Bonaventure	23-6	Independent
3	Villanova	23-10	Eastern 8 Conference
4	Illinois State	22-7	Independent
5	Houston	29-8	Southwest Conference
6	Massachusetts	20-11	Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
7	Oregon	19-10	Pacific 8 Conference
8	Virginia Tech	19-10	Independent
9	Georgetown	19-9	Independent
10	Oral Roberts	21-7	Independent
11	Seton Hall	18-11	Independent
12	Indiana State	25-3	Missouri Valley
13	Creighton	21-7	Missouri Valley
14	Old Dominion	25-4	Independent
15	Rutgers	18-10	Eastern 8 Conference
16	Memphis State	20-9	Metro Conference

First round			NIT Quarterfinals			NIT Semifinals			NIT Championship

1	Alabama	86
16	Memphis State	63
			1	Alabama	79

			8	Virginia Tech	72
8	Virginia Tech	83

9	Georgetown	79
						1	Alabama	76

						5	Houston	82
5	Houston	83

12	Indiana State	82
			5	Houston	91

			4	Illinois State	90
13	Creighton	82

4	Illinois State	65
									5	Houston	91

									2	St. Bonaventure	94
6	Massachusetts	86

11	Seton Hall	85
			6	Massachusetts	71

			3	Villanova	81
14	Old Dominion	68

3	Villanova	71
						3	Villanova	82

						2	St. Bonaventure	86
7	Oregon	90

10	Oral Roberts	89
			7	Oregon	73

			2	St. Bonaventure	76
15	Rutgers	77

2	St. Bonaventure	Bye