2009 National Invitation Tournament

2009 National Invitation Tournament

Season	2008–09
Teams	32
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	Penn State Nittany Lions (1st title)
Runner-up	Baylor Bears (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6th semifinal) San Diego State Aztecs (1st semifinal)
Winning coach	Ed DeChellis (1st title)
MVP	Jamelle Cornley (Penn State)
National Invitation Tournaments « 2008 2010 »

The 2009 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 72nd annual tournament began on March 17 on campus sites and ended on April 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Penn State winning the final 69–63 over Baylor.

Participants

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams won their conference regular season title, but failed to win conference post season tournaments. Therefore, they were not awarded their respective conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. When they did not receive at-large selections to the NCAA tournament either, they automatically qualified for the 2009 NIT.

Team	Conference	Record	Appearance	Last bid
Bowling Green	MAC	19–13	14th	2002
Davidson	Southern	26–7	5th	2005
Jacksonville	Atlantic Sun	18–13	5th	1987
UT Martin	Ohio Valley	22–9	1st	Never
Weber State	Big Sky	21–9	2nd	1984

Seedings

Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 San Diego State MWC 23–9 At-large 2 Saint Mary's WCC 26–6 At-large 3 South Carolina SEC 21–9 At-large 4 Kansas State Big 12 21–11 At-large 5 Illinois State MVC 24–9 At-large 6 Davidson SoCon 26–7 Automatic 7 Washington State Pac-10 17–15 At-large 8 Weber State Big Sky 21–9 Automatic	Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Auburn SEC 22–11 At-large 2 Virginia Tech ACC 18–14 At-large 3 Baylor Big 12 20–14 At-large 4 Tulsa C-USA 24–10 At-large 5 Northwestern Big Ten 17–13 At-large 6 Georgetown Big East 16–14 At-large 7 Duquesne A-10 21–12 At-large 8 UT Martin OVC 22–9 Automatic
Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Creighton MVC 26–7 At-large 2 Notre Dame Big East 18–14 At-large 3 New Mexico MWC 21–11 At-large 4 Kentucky SEC 20–13 At-large 5 UNLV MWC 21–10 At-large 6 Nebraska Big 12 18–12 At-large 7 UAB C-USA 22–11 At-large 8 Bowling Green MAC 19–13 Automatic	Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Florida SEC 23–10 At-large 2 Penn State Big Ten 22–11 At-large 3 Niagara MAAC 26–8 At-large 4 Miami (FL) ACC 18–12 At-large 5 Providence Big East 19–13 At-large 6 Rhode Island A-10 22–10 At-large 7 George Mason CAA 22–10 At-large 8 Jacksonville A-Sun 18–13 Automatic

Bracket

Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team (except #4 Miami (FL) at #5 Providence)

	First round					Second round					Quarterfinals
	1	San Diego State	65
	8	Weber State	49
						1	San Diego State	70
						4	Kansas State	52
	4	Kansas State	83*
	5	Illinois State	79
											1	San Diego State	70
											2	Saint Mary's	66
	3	South Carolina	63
	6	Davidson	70
						6	Davidson	68
						2	Saint Mary's	80
	2	Saint Mary's	68
	7	Washington State	57

	First round					Second round					Quarterfinals
	1	Auburn	87
	8	UT Martin	82
						1	Auburn	74
						4	Tulsa	55
	4	Tulsa	68
	5	Northwestern	59
											1	Auburn	72
											3	Baylor	74
	3	Baylor	74
	6	Georgetown	72
						3	Baylor	84
						2	Virginia Tech	66
	2	Virginia Tech	116**
	7	Duquesne	108

	First round					Second round					Quarterfinals
	1	Creighton	73
	8	Bowling Green	71
						1	Creighton	63
						4	Kentucky	65
	4	Kentucky	70
	5	UNLV	60
											4	Kentucky	67
											2	Notre Dame	77
	3	New Mexico	83
	6	Nebraska	71
						3	New Mexico	68
						2	Notre Dame	70
	2	Notre Dame	70
	7	UAB	64

	First round					Second round					Quarterfinals
	1	Florida	84
	8	Jacksonville	62
						1	Florida	74
						4	Miami (FL)	60
	4	Miami (FL)	78
	5	Providence	66
											1	Florida	62
											2	Penn State	71
	3	Niagara	62
	6	Rhode Island	68
						6	Rhode Island	72
						2	Penn State	83
	2	Penn State	77*
	7	George Mason	73

Semifinals and finals

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 31 and April 2

	Semifinals					Final
	1	San Diego State	62
	3	Baylor	76
						3	Baylor	63
						2	Penn State	69
	2	Notre Dame	59
	2	Penn State	67

* denotes each overtime played

Game summaries

NIT Championship

Team	1st half	2nd half	Final
Penn State	25	44	69
Baylor	29	34	63

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced off against the Baylor Bears in the NIT Championship game. The Nittany Lions won the matchup 69–63, aided by Jamelle Cornley's 18 points. In a four-point deficit at the half, the Lions went on a 7–1 spurt to take a 2-point lead at the beginning of the second. After the Bears tied it at 37, Penn State made three consecutive threes from which Baylor could not recover. ^[1]

See also

• 2009 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2009 College Basketball Invitational
• 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

References

1. "Recap: Penn State vs. Baylor". Kansas City Star . April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.^{[ dead link ]}