The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The tournament is played at regional sites with its Final Four traditionally played at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City each March and April. It was founded in 1938. The NIT was once considered the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball.
The 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 47 games were played.
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 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 1948 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 19, 1948, and ended with the championship game on March 23 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 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 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 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 1991 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, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A total of 63 games were played.
The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1950–51 was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal that involved seven American schools in all, with four in the New York metropolitan area, two in the Midwest, and one in the South. However, most of the key players in the scandal were players of the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team.
The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represents St. John's University located in Queens, New York. The team participates in the Big East Conference. As of the end of the 2022–23 season, St. John's ranked ninth with 1,922 total wins among NCAA Division I teams. St. John's has appeared in 30 NCAA tournaments, most recently appearing in 2019. The Red Storm's best finish in the NCAA tournament came in 1952 when they were NCAA runner-ups and made the Final Four. St. John's also made a Final Four appearance in 1985. St. John's is coached by Rick Pitino.
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 1946–47 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross in NCAA competition in the 1946–47 season. The Crusaders, behind coach Alvin "Doggie" Julian, NCAA tournament MVP George Kaftan, star Joe Mullaney and a freshman point guard named Bob Cousy, beat Oklahoma at Madison Square Garden to win the NCAA championship.
The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the Bradley Braves.
The 1950 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1949-50 NCAA men's basketball season. The game was played on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It featured the CCNY Beavers of the Metropolitan New York Conference - the reigning NIT champions, and the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference.
