1966 National Invitation Tournament

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1966 National Invitation Tournament
Season 196566
Teams14
Finals site Madison Square Garden
New York City
Champions BYU Cougars (2nd title)
Runner-up NYU Violets (2nd title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coach Stan Watts (2nd title)
MVP Bill Melchionni (Villanova)
National Invitation Tournaments
« 1965 1967 »

The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee and in 1948, as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA), which comprised representatives from five New York City schools: Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University, and Wagner College. Originally all of the teams qualifying for the tournament were invited to New York City, and all games were played at Madison Square Garden.

Contents

The tournament originally consisted of only 6 teams, which later expanded to 8 teams in 1941, 12 teams in 1949, 14 teams in 1965, 16 teams in 1968, 24 teams in 1979, 32 teams in 1980, and 40 teams from 2002 through 2006. In 2007, the tournament reverted to the current 32-team format. [1] [2]

Selected teams

Connecticut declined its invitation to the tournament. [3] The 14 teams selected for the tournament were: [4]

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket. [4]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
            
Temple88
Virginia Tech 73
Temple 78
BYU90
BYU66
Army 60
San Francisco89
Penn State 77
San Francisco 63
Army80
Army71
Manhattan 66
BYU97
NYU 84
NYU68
DePaul 65
NYU90
Wichita State 84
NYU69
Villanova 63
Villanova63
St. John's 61
Villanova86
Boston College 85
Boston College96
Louisville 90
Third place game
   
Army 65
Villanova76

See also

References

  1. "USATODAY.com - NIT's postseason field cut to 32 teams".
  2. "NIT Tournament Home". NCAA.com.
  3. "SHABEL WAS ABLE". Hartford Courant. Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Tournament Results (1960's) at nit.org, URL accessed December 8, 2009. Archived 11/7/09