2008 NIT Men's Basketball Tournamnet

2008 NIT Basketball Tournament

The 2008 National Invitation Tournament ) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 71st annual tournament began on March 18 on campus sites and ended on April 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Each regular season conference champion that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining teams were selected by the NIT Selection Committee. The first, second, and third rounds were played on the higher seeded team's home court, with the semi-finals and finals played at Madison Square Garden. The Ohio State Buckeyes coached by Thad Matta, defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen in the championship game to claim their second NIT title. Kosta Koufos of Ohio State was named the tournament MVP.

2008 NIT Tournament at Madison Square Gardens

Semifinals			National Championship Game

1	Ohio State	81
2	Ole Miss	69
			1	Ohio State	92
			2	UMass	85
2	Florida	66
2	UMass	78

Preliminary Rounds (1) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Ohio State	22-9	Big Ten	At-large bid
Illinois State	22-12	MVC	At-large bid
Dayton	23-8	A-10	At-large bid
California	23-8	Pac-10	At-large bid
New Mexico	20-11	MWC	At-large bid
Cleveland State	18-15	Horizon	At-large bid
Utah State	24-8	WAC	Automatic
UNC Asheville	21-12	Big South	Automatic

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Ohio State	84
8	UNC Asheville	66
				Ohio State	73
				California	56
5	New Mexico	66
4	California	68

							Ohio State	74
							Dayton	63
3	Dayton	66
6	Cleveland State	57
				Illinois State	48
				Dayton	55
7	Utah State	57
2	Illinois State	61

Preliminary Rounds (2) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Arizona State	23-8	Pac-10	At-large bid
Florida	22-11	SEC	At-large bid
Creighton	18-13	MVC	At-large bid
Southern Illinois	18-13	MVC	At-large bid
Oklahoma State	22-9	Big 12	At-large bid
Rhode Island	22-9	A-10	At-large bid
San Diego State	25-7	MWC	Automatic
Alabama State	21-11	SWAC	Automatic

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Arizona State	64
8	Alabama State	53
				Arizona State	65
				Southern Illinois	51
5	Oklahoma State	53
4	Southern Illinois	69

							Arizona State	57
							Florida	70
3	Creighton	74
6	Rhode Island	73
				Florida	82
				Creighton	54
7	San Diego State	49
2	Florida	73

Preliminary Rounds (3) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Syracuse	21-10	Big East	At-large bid
UMass	22-10	A-10	At-large bid
Florida State	22-10	ACC	At-large bid
Minnesota	20-12	Big Ten	At-large bid
Maryland	25-7	ACC	At-large bid
Akron	21-10	MAC	At-large bid
Stephen F. Austin	20-11	Southland	Automatic
Robert Morris	24-9	NEC	Automatic

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Syracuse	87
8	Robert Morris	81
				Syracuse	88
				Maryland	72
5	Maryland	68
4	Minnesota	58

							Syracuse	77
							UMass	81
3	Florida State	60
6	Akron	65
				UMass	68
				Akron	63
7	Stephen F. Austin	60
2	UMass	80

Preliminary Rounds (4) held On Campus

Team	Season W-L	Conference	Invitation
Virginia Tech	18-13	ACC	At-large bid
Ole Miss	20-12	SEC	At-large bid
Nebraska	21-12	Big 12	At-large bid
VCU	21-12	CAA	At-large bid
UAB	18-12	CUSA	At-large bid
Charlotte	23-11	A-10	At-large bid
UC Santa Barbara	19-12	Big West	Automatic
Morgan State	18-15	MEAC	Automatic

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Virginia Tech	94
8	Morgan State	62
				Virginia Tech	75
				UAB	49
5	UAB	80
4	VCU	77

							Virginia Tech	72
							Ole Miss	81
3	Nebraska	67
6	Charlotte	48
				Ole Miss	85
				Nebraska	75
7	UC Santa Barbara	68
2	Ole Miss	83