The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The tournament is played at regional sites with its Final Four played at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City up until 2022. Starting in 2023, the NIT Final Four began following the format of the NCAA Tournament by having its Final Four at different venues each season. First held in 1938, the NIT was once considered the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball before its status was superseded in the mid-1950s by the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Henry Payne “Hank” Iba was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri State University, from 1929 to 1933; the University of Colorado Boulder from 1933 to 1934; and the Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, known as Oklahoma A&M prior to 1957, from 1934 to 1970, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 751–340. He led Oklahoma A&M to consecutive NCAA basketball tournament titles, in 1945 and 1946.
Robert Albert Kurland was a 7 feet (2.13m) American basketball center, who played for the two-time NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M Aggies basketball team. He has been credited as the first person to dunk in a college basketball game. He led the U.S. basketball team to gold medals in two Summer Olympics, and led his AAU team to three national titles. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Chad Weiberg, who replaced the retiring Mike Holder on July 1, 2021. Oklahoma State has won 55 national championships, including 53 NCAA team national titles, which ranks sixth in most NCAA team national championships. These national titles have come in wrestling (34), golf (11), cross country (5), basketball (2), and baseball (1), and the Cowboys also claim non-NCAA national titles in football (1) and equestrian (1). In addition, Oklahoma State athletes have won 183 individual national titles.
The 1946 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 21, 1946, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in New York City. A total of 10 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
The 1945 NCAA basketball tournament was an eight-team single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college basketball. It began on March 22, 1945, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region.
The 2008 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2007–08 national champion of women's NCAA Division I college basketball. It commenced on March 22, 2008, and concluded when the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers defeated the Stanford University Cardinal 64–48 on April 8, 2008, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.
The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama in NCAA Division I men's basketball. The program plays in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Among SEC teams it trails only long-time basketball powerhouse Kentucky in SEC tournament titles, is third behind Kentucky and Tennessee in SEC regular season conference titles, and is fourth behind Kentucky, Texas, and Arkansas in total wins. Alabama was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1929–30 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. The team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 24 times, most recently in 2024, and has made ten Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four in the tournament. Alabama's current head coach is Nate Oats.
The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team is an intercollegiate basketball program that competes in the NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference, representing the University of Oregon. The Ducks play their home games at Matthew Knight Arena, which has a capacity of 12,364. Then coached by Howard Hobson, Oregon won the first NCAA men's basketball national championship in 1939. They again reached the Final Four in 2017 under head coach Dana Altman, marking the longest span between appearances in NCAA history. The Ducks have made the NCAA tournament 18 times, and have won eight conference championships.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team represents Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. All women's teams at the school are known as Cowgirls. The Cowboys currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. In 2020, CBS Sports ranked Oklahoma State the 25th best college basketball program of all-time, ahead of such programs as Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma State men’s basketball has a very rich history of success, having won more national titles and advanced to the NCAA Championship, Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen more times than any other school in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State has won a combined 23 regular season conference titles and conference tournament titles, which is the most of any program in the state of Oklahoma.
The 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2008, and ended with the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 6, 2009, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The season saw six different teams achieve the AP #1 ranking during the year. Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin was the dominant individual performer, sweeping National Player of the Year honors. The season began with North Carolina becoming the first unanimous preseason #1 team, and ended with the Tar Heels dominating the NCAA tournament en route to their fifth NCAA title. UNC won its six NCAA tournament games by double digits, and by an average of 19.8 points per game. Junior Wayne Ellington was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
The 1945–46 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1945–46 season. The Aggies won their second consecutive NCAA championship, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels by a score of 43–40 in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma A&M was also retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
The NYU Violets men's basketball team is the college basketball team that represents New York University, located in New York City. The team currently competes in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. NYU previously competed as an NCAA Division I program until 1971, when the team was disbanded due to a budget crisis. The team was reinstated in 1983 as a Division III program.
The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 28, 1980, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 30, 1981, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Indiana Hoosiers won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 63–50 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1944, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1945 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1945, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their first NCAA national championship with a 49–45 victory over the NYU Violets.
The Phillips 66ers were an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sponsored and run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. The 66ers were a national phenomenon that grew from a small-town team to an organization of accomplished amateur athletes receiving national and worldwide attention. Under the sponsorship of the company's owner, Frank Phillips, the team, which began playing in 1919, participated in the Amateur Athletic Union, the nation's premier basketball league before the National Basketball Association. Between 1920 and 1950, some of the strongest basketball teams in the United States were sponsored by corporations: Phillips 66, 20th Century Fox, Safeway Inc., Caterpillar Inc., and others.
The 1946 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game took place on March 26, 1946, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Oklahoma A&M Aggies at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The match-up was the final one of the eighth consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship single-elimination tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is used to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level.
The 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1946, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1947, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Holy Cross Crusaders won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–47 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
The 1938–39 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1938, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1939 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1939, at Patten Gymnasium in Evanston, Illinois. The Oregon Webfoots won the first NCAA national championship with a 46–33 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
