1979 NIT Men's Basketball Tournamnet

1979 NIT Basketball Tournament

The 1979 NIT Tournament saw an increase in the field to 24 teams. Rather than having eight teams draw byes in the first round, the organizers chose to have two of the six quarter finalists draw byes via a lottery. Indiana and Ohio State won that lottery meaning both teams were granted an automatic bid to the semi finals. The championship semifinals and championship games were still held at Madison Square Gardens in New York. The Bob Knight coached Indiana defeated their Big 10 rival Purdue 52 to 52 to win the tournament.. The tournament named two MVPs, Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert both from the Indiana Hoosiers.

1979 NIT Tournament at Madison Square Gardens

Semifinals			National Championship Game

1	Indiana	64
2	Ohio State	55
			1	Indiana	53
			1	Purdue	52
1	Purdue	87
3	Alabama	68

Preliminary Rounds (1) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Indiana	22-12	Big 10
Ohio State	19-12	Big 10
Maryland	19-11	ACC
Alcorn State	28-1	Southwest Athletic Conference
Mississippi State	19-9	SEC
Rhode Island	20-9	Independent
Saint Josephs	19-11	East Coast Conference
Texas Tech	19-11	Southwest Conference

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Indiana	78
8	Texas Tech	59
				Indiana	72
				Alcorn State	68
5	Mississippi State	78
4	Alcorn State	80

							Indiana	64
							Ohio State	55
3	Maryland	67
6	Rhode Island	65
				Ohio State	72
				Maryland	68
7	Saint Josephs	66
2	Ohio State	80

Preliminary Rounds (2) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Purdue	27-8	Big 10
Old Dominion	23-7	Independent
Clemson	19-10	ACC
Dayton	19-10	Independent
Holy Cross	17-11	Independent
Kentucky	19-12	SEC
Wagner	21-7	Independent
Central Michigan	19-9	Mid American Conference

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Purdue	97
8	Central Michigan	80
				Purdue	84
				Dayton	70
5	Holy Cross	81
4	Dayton	105

							Purdue	67
							Old Dominion	59
3	Clemson	68
6	Kentucky	67
				Old Dominion	61
				Clemson	59
7	Wagner	81
2	Old Dominion	83

Preliminary Rounds (3) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Nevada	21-7	West Coast Atletic Conference
Virginia	19-10	ACC
Alabama	22-11	SEC
New Mexico	19-10	WAC
Texas A&M	24-9	Southwest Conference
St. Bonaventure	19-9	Independent
Northeast Louisiana	30-4	Trans America Athletic Conference
Oregon State	18-10	Pacific 10

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Nevada	62
8	Oregon State	61
				Nevada	64
				Texas A&M	67
5	Texas A&M	79
4	New Mexico	68

							Texas A&M	68
							Alabama	72
3	Alabama	98
6	St. Bonaventure	89
				Virginia	88
				Alabama	90
7	Northeast Louisiana	78
2	Virginia	79