1954 National Invitation Tournament

1954 National Invitation Tournament

Season	1953–54
Teams	12
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	Holy Cross Crusaders (1st title)
Runner-up	Duquesne Dukes (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Niagara Purple Eagles (1st semifinal) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (3rd semifinal)
Winning coach	Lester Sheary (1st title)
MVP	Togo Palazzi (Holy Cross)
National Invitation Tournaments « 1953 1955 »

The 1954 National Invitation Tournament was the 1954 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament. ^[1] There were 4 seeded teams, which received a bye in the first round, (1) Duquesne, (2) Western Kentucky, (3) Holy Cross, and (4) Niagara. ^[2]

Participants	Seed
Duquesne	1
Western Kentucky State	2
Holy Cross	3
Niagara	4
Bowling Green
BYU
Dayton
Louisville
Manhattan
St. Francis (NY)
Saint Francis (PA)
Wichita State

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket. ^[1]

	First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Bowling Green	88
		Wichita State	64
							Bowling Green	81
						2	Western Kentucky	95
											2	Western Kentucky	69
											3	Holy Cross	75
						3	Holy Cross	93
							St. Francis (NY)	69
		St. Francis (NY)	60
		Louisville	55
																3	Holy Cross	71
																1	Duquesne	62
		Saint Francis (PA)	81
		BYU	68
							Saint Francis (PA)	63
						1	Duquesne	69
											1	Duquesne	66
											4	Niagara	51
						4	Niagara	77
							Dayton	74
		Dayton	90
		Manhattan	79

	Third place game
	2	Western Kentucky	66
	4	Niagara	71

See also

• 1954 NCAA basketball tournament
• 1954 NAIA Basketball Tournament

References

1. Tournament Results (1950s) at nit.org, URL accessed December 8, 2009. Archived 11/7/09
2. "ST. FRANCIS BEATS LOUISVILLE, 60-55". New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2020.