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2008 Mastercard National Invitation Tournament
| Semifinal Doubleheader: |
April 1, 2008 |
| Championship Game: |
April 3, 2008 - 7:00pm |
| Place: |
Madison Square Garden |
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The Mastercard National Invitation Tournament is the nation's longest-running postseason college basketball tournament and has been a fixture in New York City's sports landscape since 1938.
From its inaugural season in 1938 until 1977, the NIT was played in its entirety at Madison Square Garden. Since 1977, the opening rounds of the tournament have taken place at campus sites across the country where the winners are awarded with a trip to New York City to compete in the semifinals and finals. As the tournament evolved, it expanded from the original field of 6 teams to the current format of 32 teams.
Throughout the history of the tournament, there have been many great memories that will live on forever in college basketball lore. One of those memories came in 1970 from Al McGuire of Marquette who turned down the NCAA bid to play in the NIT. His Warriors won the tournament that year with New York City native Dean "The Dream" Meminger leading the way. Other great players who have participated in this tournament throughout the years include: George Mikan, DePaul (1945); Lenny Wilkens, Providence (1960); Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois (1967); Ralph Sampson, Virginia (1980); and Reggie Miller, UCLA (1985).
2008 NIT Finals
Ohio State 92 – UMass 85
Ohio State claimed the 2008 NIT Championship with a 92-85 victory over UMass. The Buckeyes were led by freshmen Kosta Koufos (23 points) and Evan Turner (20 points). Koufos was named the tournament MVP by averaging 18.4 points and 5.6 rebounds throughout the tournament. The Buckeyes shot 56% from the floor while holding the Minuteman to 37% shooting. Ricky Harris led the Minuteman with 27 points while Etienne Brower added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Semifinals
UMass 78 - Florida 66
UMass advanced to the NIT finals by overcoming a nine point half-time lead and defeating Florida by a score of 78-66. New York City native Dante Milligan led UMass with 17 points, 12 rebounds and several key blocks late in the game to seal the win. Gary Forbes added 19 points for UMass while Florida’s Marreese Speights led his team with 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
Ohio State 81 - Mississippi 69
Ohio State University advanced to the NIT finals with an 81-69 victory over the University of Mississippi. The Buckeyes rode a 14-0 run in the early game to a 24 point half-time lead. Ohio State’s Jamar Butler and Evan Turner each had 17 points while Kosta Koufos added 16 points and seven rebounds. Guard Chris Warren led the Ole Miss Rebels with 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
The tournament field was selected by a committee including Hall of Famers C.M. Newton and Dean Smith, as well as Don DeVoe, Reggie Minton, Carroll Williams and Jack Powers. All members of the NIT Selection Committee have experience as head basketball coaches. In an effort to maintain quality play, a rule stating that teams must have a .500 record to qualify for the NIT has been imposed. In addition, all teams that won regular-season conference championships but failed to earn NCAA tournament bids are guaranteed places in the NIT. Thus, more teams from the low-major conferences may qualify.
For more information about this event, please visit www.nit.org.
| Some Past NIT MVP's That Moved On To The NBA |
| George Mikan, DePaul (1945) |
Lenny Wilkens, Providence (1960) |
| Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois (1967) |
Ralph Sampson, Virginia (1980) |
| Reggie Miller, UCLA (1985) |
Jayson Williams, St. John's (1989) |
| Voshon Lenard, Minnesota (1993) |
Robert Traylor, Michigan (1997) |
| Dajuan Wagner (2002) |
Renaldo Balkman (2006) |
To see results from last year's NIT, please visit our 2007 page.
Last Updated On:
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 | |
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