1939 National Invitation Tournament

1939 National Invitation Tournament

Souvenir program from the tournament.
Tournament details
City	New York City
Venue(s)	Madison Square Garden
Teams	6
Final positions
Champions	Long Island-Brooklyn Blackbirds (1st title)
Runners-up	Loyola-Chicago Ramblers
Semifinalists	Bradley Braves St. John's Red Storm
Awards
MVP	Bill Lloyd (St. John's)
←  1938 1940  →

The 1939 National Invitation Tournament was the second edition of the annual college basketball competition.

The championship game between Long Island (22–0) and Loyola (21–0) is the only time in men's college basketball history where two undefeated major college teams met in a postseason tournament final for a national championship. ^{[1] : 286  [2]}

Selected teams

Below is a list of the six teams selected for the tournament. ^[3]

• Bradley
• Long Island
• Loyola (IL)
• New Mexico A&M
• Roanoke
• St. John's

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket. ^[3]

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
					Bradley	32
	Long Island	52			Long Island	36
	New Mexico A&M	45							Long Island	44
									Loyola–Chicago	32
					Loyola–Chicago	51
	St. John's	71			St. John's	46
	Roanoke	47							Third place
									Bradley	40
									St. John's	35

See also

• 1939 NCAA basketball tournament
• 1939 NAIA Basketball Tournament

References

1. Douchant, Mike (1995). Encyclopedia of College Basketball. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN   0-8103-9483-9.
2. Climer, David (April 7, 2014). "UConn, Notre Dame set up blockbuster women's title game". USA Today . Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. For those keeping score, it is the first time in 75 years that two unbeaten teams have played for a national championship in basketball. In 1939, Long Island University defeated Loyola (Ill.) in the finals of the men's National Invitation Tournament. That was also the first year the NCAA held a men's tournament, with Oregon claiming that title. It's never happened in women's basketball – until now.
3. Tournament Results (1930's) at nit.org, URL accessed December 9, 2009. Archived 11/7/09