The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden in New York City each March and April, it was founded in 1938 and was originally the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball. The 2021 tournament, in which all games were played in Denton and Frisco, Texas, marked the first time that the NIT's semifinals and championship games were not hosted at Madison Square Garden; MSG won't play host to the games entirely starting in 2023.
The 1946 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 8 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 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's college basketball in the NCAA University Division, replaced in 1973 by NCAA Division I. The 1956–57 school year was the first in which NCAA members were formally divided into separate competitive levels, with larger and more competitive athletic programs placed in the University Division and smaller programs placed in the College Division.
The 1943 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 24, 1943, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region. Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in the NCAA Tournament or NIT after three of its starters were drafted into the Army.
The 1944 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 24, 1944, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region.
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 1947 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 19, 1947, and ended with the championship game on March 25 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 1949 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 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle, Washington. A total of 10 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1950 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 23, 1950, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City, New York. A total of 10 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1951 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1951, and ended with the championship game on March 27 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A total of 18 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1952 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 14th annual edition of the tournament began on March 21, 1952, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle. A total of 20 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1955 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1955, and ended with the championship game on March 19 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1961 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 14, 1961, and ended with the championship game on March 25 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I championship—previously, NCAA member schools had been divided into the "University Division" and "College Division". The NCAA created its current three-division setup, effective with the 1973–74 academic year, by moving all of its University Division schools to Division I and splitting the College Division members into Division II and Division III. Previous tournaments would retroactively be considered Division I championships.
The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championship game on April 1 at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A total of 63 games were played.
The Empire Classic, formerly known as the 2K Sports Classic, is an annual college basketball event played in November at the beginning of the season and televised by ESPN. Originally known as the Atlantic City Shootout and produced by the Gazelle Group, Inc., the event was first played in 1995. The following year, it became the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society in an effort to raise funds for cancer research. In 2012, the tournament beneficiary became Wounded Warrior Project, resulting in the tournament being renamed the 2K Sports Classic. A new annual college basketball tournament benefiting cancer research, also called the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic and hosted by the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was held from 2012 to 2014. In 2019, the event was renamed the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, commonly referred to as the "Empire Classic."
The 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team represented the City College of New York. The head coach was Nat Holman, who was one of the game's greatest innovators and playmakers. Unlike today, when colleges recruit players from all over the country, the 1949–50 CCNY team was composed of "kids from the sidewalks of New York City," who had been recruited by Holman's assistant coach Harold "Bobby" Sand from Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) schools such as Taft, Clinton, Boys, Erasmus, and Franklin High Schools.
The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2014, and concluded with the UConn Huskies winning the championship game on April 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1947, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1948 NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 23, 1948, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Kentucky Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–42 victory over the Baylor Bears.
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.
