2007 National Invitation Tournament

2007 National Invitation Tournament

Season	2006–07
Teams	32
Finals site	Madison Square Garden New York City
Champions	West Virginia Mountaineers (2nd title)
Runner-up	Clemson Tigers (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Air Force Falcons (1st semifinal) Mississippi State Bulldogs (1st semifinal)
Winning coach	John Beilein (1st title)
MVP	Frank Young (West Virginia)
National Invitation Tournaments « 2006 2008 »

The 2007 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams which did not participate in the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The West Virginia University Mountaineers won the 2007 NIT.

The participating teams were selected by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) selection committee using numerous resources such as computer rankings, results (head-to-head, chronological, last 10 games played, non-conference), and polls. ^[1] The first round, second round, and quarterfinal games are held at the home court of the higher seed. The semifinal and final round are played at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The 32 participating teams were announced on March 11, 2007. ^[2] This is the first time since the NIT began seeding that all of the #1 seeds made the Final Four. Not only that, but both of the semifinal matches between the #1 seeds were one point games.

Selected teams

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2007 NIT field after losing in their respective conference tournaments; by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship and not qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

Team	Conference	Record	Appearance	Last bid
Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	21–11	2nd	2004
Delaware State	MEAC	21–12	2nd	2006
East Tennessee State	Atlantic Sun	24–9	2nd	1983
Marist	MAAC	24–8	2nd	1996
Mississippi Valley State	SWAC	18–15	1st	Never
South Alabama	Sun Belt	20–11	5th	2001
Toledo	MAC	23–9	7th	2004
Vermont	America East	25–7	1st	Never

Thirty-two NCAA Division I teams participated in the 2007 NIT, reduced from the prior years' 40. ^[3] Teams are chosen by the NIT selection committee based on numerous resources, including "computer rankings, head-to-head results, chronological results, Division I results, non-conference results, home and away results, results in the last 10 games, polls and the coaches' regional advisory committee's rankings". ^[1] The teams are then seeded according to the NIT's procedures for seeding teams. The teams are then placed into four regions: East, South, West, and North. ^{[1] [4]}

East Region Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 West Virginia Big East 22–9 At-large bid 2 Oklahoma State Big 12 22–12 At-large bid 3 Drexel CAA 23–8 At-large bid 4 UMass A-10 23–8 At-large bid 5 Alabama SEC 20–11 At-large bid 6 NC State ACC 18–15 At-large bid 7 Marist MAAC 24–8 Automatic 8 Delaware State MEAC 21–12 Automatic	South Region Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Clemson ACC 21–10 At-large bid 2 Syracuse Big East 22–10 At-large bid 3 Missouri State MVC 22–10 At-large bid 4 Ole Miss SEC 20–12 At-large bid 5 Appalachian State SoCon 25–7 At-large bid 6 San Diego State MWC 21–10 At-large bid 7 South Alabama Sun Belt 20–11 Automatic 8 East Tennessee State A-Sun 24–9 Automatic
West Region Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Air Force MWC 23–8 At-large bid 2 Kansas State Big 12 22–11 At-large bid 3 DePaul Big East 18–13 At-large bid 4 Georgia SEC 18–13 At-large bid 5 Fresno State WAC 22–9 At-large bid 6 Hofstra CAA 22–9 At-large bid 7 Vermont America East 25–7 Automatic 8 Austin Peay OVC 21–11 Automatic	North Region Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Mississippi State SEC 18–13 At-large bid 2 Florida State ACC 20–12 At-large bid 3 Michigan Big Ten 21–12 At-large bid 4 Bradley MVC 21–12 At-large bid 5 Providence Big East 18–12 At-large bid 6 Utah State WAC 23–11 At-large bid 7 Toledo MAC 19–12 Automatic 8 Mississippi Valley State SWAC 18–15 Automatic

First round

The first round took place on March 13, 2007, and March 14, 2007. The higher-seeded team hosted each game. ^[2]

March 13, 2007
Region	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue
North	Mississippi State Bulldogs	82–63	Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils	Humphrey Coliseum – Starkville, MS
North	Michigan Wolverines	68–58	Utah State Aggies	Crisler Arena – Ann Arbor, MI
North	Florida State Seminoles	77–61	Toledo Rockets	Donald L. Tucker Center – Tallahassee, FL
East	West Virginia Mountaineers	74–50	Delaware State Hornets	WVU Coliseum – Morgantown, WV
East	Massachusetts Minutemen	89–87	Alabama Crimson Tide	Mullins Center – Amherst, MA
East	Drexel Dragons	56–63	NC State Wolfpack	Daskalakis Athletic Center – Philadelphia, PA
East	Oklahoma State Cowboys	64–67	Marist Red Foxes	Gallagher-Iba Arena – Stillwater, OK

March 14, 2007
Region	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue
North	Bradley Braves	90–78	Providence Friars	Carver Arena – Peoria, IL
West	Air Force Falcons	75–51	Austin Peay Governors	Clune Arena – Colorado Springs, CO
West	Georgia Bulldogs	88–78	Fresno State Bulldogs	Stegeman Coliseum – Athens, GA
West	DePaul Blue Demons	83–71	Hofstra Pride	McGrath Arena – Chicago, IL [5] [6]
West	Kansas State Wildcats	59–57	Vermont Catamounts	Bramlage Coliseum – Manhattan, KS
South	Clemson Tigers	64–57	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	Littlejohn Coliseum – Clemson, SC
South	Ole Miss Rebels	73–59	Appalachian State Mountaineers	Tad Smith Coliseum – Oxford, MS
South	Missouri State Bears	70–74	San Diego State Aztecs	Hammons Student Center – Springfield, MO
South	Syracuse Orange	79–73	South Alabama Jaguars	Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY

Second round

The second round took place March 15, 2007, through March 19, 2007. The higher-seeded team hosted the game. ^[2]

Second Round
Date	Region	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue
3/15	North	Florida State Seminoles	87–66	Michigan Wolverines	Donald L. Tucker Center – Tallahassee, FL
3/15	East	West Virginia Mountaineers	90–77	Massachusetts Minutemen	WVU Coliseum – Morgantown, WV
3/16	East	NC State Wolfpack	69–62	Marist Red Foxes	Reynolds Coliseum – Raleigh, NC *
3/17	North	Mississippi State Bulldogs	101–72	Bradley Braves	Humphrey Coliseum – Starkville, MS
3/19	West	Air Force Falcons	83–52	Georgia Bulldogs	Clune Arena – Colorado Springs, CO
3/19	West	Kansas State Wildcats	65–70	DePaul Blue Demons	Bramlage Coliseum – Manhattan, KS
3/19	South	Clemson Tigers	89–68	Ole Miss Rebels	Littlejohn Coliseum – Clemson, SC
3/19	South	Syracuse Orange	80–64	San Diego State Aztecs	Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY **

*Under normal circumstances, the RBC Center would be used as NC State's home court, but a concert was scheduled that night at that facility, forcing the Wolfpack to use their older arena (still regularly in use for women's basketball), Reynolds Coliseum.

**A new attendance record for a NIT game was set at the Syracuse–San Diego State game in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won the game 80–64 with the attendance total of 26,752.The old record of 23,522 was set by Kentucky in 1979.

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals round took place March 20, 2007, and March 21, 2007. (March 22 was reserved as a backup date in case of scheduling conflicts, but none arose.) The higher-seeded team hosted each game. ^[2]

Quarterfinals
Date	Region	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue
3/20	East	West Virginia Mountaineers	71–66	NC State Wolfpack	WVU Coliseum – Morgantown, WV
3/20	North	Mississippi State Bulldogs	86–71	Florida State Seminoles	Humphrey Coliseum – Starkville, MS
3/21	West	Air Force Falcons	52–51	DePaul Blue Demons	Clune Arena – Colorado Springs, CO
3/21	South	Clemson Tigers	74–70	Syracuse Orange	Littlejohn Coliseum – Clemson, SC

Semifinals

The semifinals round took place March 27, 2007 at Madison Square Garden. ^[2]

Semifinals
Date	Winner	Score	Opponent	Venue
3/27	West Virginia Mountaineers	63–62	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
3/27	Clemson Tigers	68–67	Air Force Falcons	Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

Finals

The finals round took place March 29, 2007 at Madison Square Garden. ^[2]

Championship
Date	Winner	Score	Opponent	Venue
3/29	West Virginia Mountaineers	78–73	Clemson Tigers	Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

The post-tournament celebration by the Mountaineers was overshadowed by a typographical error on the championship T-shirt, on which the school name was rendered as WEST VIRGINA. ^[7] The vendor, 6th Man Sportswear, apologized for this mistake, and corrected the spelling for all T-shirts except those 25 printed for the team in preparation for a victory. ^[8]

Bracket

East Region

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	1	West Virginia	74
	8	Delaware State	50
						1	West Virginia	90
						4	Massachusetts	77
	4	Massachusetts	89
	5	Alabama	87
											1	West Virginia	71
											6	North Carolina State	66
	3	Drexel	56
	6	North Carolina State	63
						6	North Carolina State	69
						7	Marist	62
	2	Oklahoma State	64
	7	Marist	67

South Region

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	1	Clemson	64
	8	East Tennessee State	57
						1	Clemson	89
						4	Mississippi	68
	4	Mississippi	73
	5	Appalachian State	59
											1	Clemson	74
											2	Syracuse	70
	3	Missouri State	70
	6	San Diego State	74
						6	San Diego State	64
						2	Syracuse	80
	2	Syracuse	79
	7	South Alabama	73

West Region

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	1	Air Force	75
	8	Austin Peay	51
						1	Air Force	83
						4	Georgia	52
	4	Georgia	88
	5	Fresno State	78
											1	Air Force	52
											3	DePaul	51
	3	DePaul	83
	6	Hofstra	71
						3	DePaul	70
						2	Kansas State	65
	2	Kansas State	59
	7	Vermont	57

North Region

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	1	Mississippi State	82
	8	Miss. Valley State	63
						1	Mississippi State	101
						4	Bradley	72
	4	Bradley	90
	5	Providence	78
											1	Mississippi State	86
											2	Florida State	71
	3	Michigan	68
	6	Utah State	58
						3	Michigan	66
						2	Florida State	87
	2	Florida State	77
	7	Toledo	61

Semifinals and Finals

	Semifinals					Finals
	1	West Virginia	63
	1	Mississippi State	62
						1	West Virginia	78
						1	Clemson	73
	1	Clemson	68
	1	Air Force	67

See also

• 2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2007 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2007 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2007 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2007 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2007 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

References

1. "National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Principles and Procedures for Establishing the Bracket". National Invitation Tournament. Archived from the original on January 17, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
2. "70th Annual National Invitation Tournament". National Invitation Tournament. Archived from the original on January 13, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
3. "N.I.T. Sets Its Field of 32". Associated Press. March 12, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
4. "National Invitation Tournament". National Invitation Tournament. Archived from the original on March 9, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
5. DePaul normally plays non-exhibition games at Allstate Arena, but due to a scheduling conflict, DePaul played on campus at McGrath Arena.
6. Lew Freedman (March 11, 2007). "NIT's fine with DePaul". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
7. "Typo creates controversy at 'West Virgina'". ESPN.com. March 30, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
8. "'West Virgina' NIT Tournament Champions Tee Shirt: If 'I' Did It". 6thManSportswear.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.