2008 National Invitation Tournament

U.S. college basketball tournament August 2023 April 2026 NIT 2008 200 32 Madison Square Garden New York City Ohio State Buckeyes 2nd Massachusetts Minutemen 1st Florida Gators 3rd Ole Miss Rebels 1st Thad Matta 1st Kosta Koufos Ohio State The 2008 National Invitation Tournament (known through sponsorship as the MasterCard NIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 71st annual tournament began on March 18 on campus sites and ended on April 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.71st Annual National Invitation Tournament :: <blank> Each regular season conference champion that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the NIT Selection Committee.NIT – National Invitation Tournament The first, second, and third rounds were played on the higher seeded team's home court, with the semi-finals and finals played at Madison Square Garden. The Ohio State Buckeyes won the tournament. Selection Committee The 2008 NIT Selection Committee consists of the following former college basketball coaches and administrators:NIT – National Invitation Tournament Rudy Davalos Don DeVoe Gene Keady Reggie Minton C. M. Newton (chair) John J. Powers Carroll Williams Participants Automatic qualifiers The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2008 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. TeamConferenceRecordAppearanceLast bid2007 none Alabama State Hornets Alabama State University Alabama StateSWAC20–102nd19832007 men Morgan State Bears Morgan StateMEAC22–101stNever2007 men Robert Morris Colonials Robert Morris University Robert MorrisNortheast26–71stNever2007 none Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. AustinSouthland26–52nd19872007 men UC Santa Barbara Gauchos University of California, Santa Barbara UC Santa BarbaraBig West23–85th20032007 men UNC Asheville Bulldogs University of North Carolina at Asheville UNC AshevilleBig South23–91stNever2007 men Utah State Aggies Utah State University Utah StateWAC24–109th2007VCUCAA24–75th2005 Seedings SeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type 1Ohio StateBig Ten19–13At-large2Illinois StateMVC24–9At-large3DaytonA-1021–10At-large4CaliforniaPac-1016–15At-large52007 men New Mexico Lobos New MexicoMWC24–8At-large6Cleveland StateHorizon21–12At-large72007 men Utah State Aggies Utah State University Utah StateWAC24–10Automatic82007 men UNC Asheville Bulldogs University of North Carolina at Asheville UNC AshevilleBig South23–9AutomaticSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type1Virginia TechACC19–13At-large2Ole MissSEC21–10At-large32007 men Nebraska Cornhuskers NebraskaBig 1219–12At-large4VCUCAA24–7Automatic52007 men UAB Blazers UABC-USA22–10At-large62007 men Charlotte 49ers CharlotteA-1020–13At-large72007 men UC Santa Barbara Gauchos University of California, Santa Barbara UC Santa BarbaraBig West23–8Automatic82007 men Morgan State Bears Morgan State University Morgan StateMEAC22–10AutomaticSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type1Arizona StatePac-1019–12At-large2FloridaSEC21–11At-large32007 men Creighton Bluejays CreightonMVC21–10At-large42007 men Southern Illinois Salukis Southern IllinoisMVC17–14At-large52007 none Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma StateBig 1217–15At-large62007 men Rhode Island Rams Rhode IslandA-1021–11At-large72007 men San Diego State Aztecs San Diego StateMWC20–12At-large82007 none Alabama State Hornets Alabama State University Alabama StateSWAC20–10AutomaticSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type1SyracuseBig East19–13At-large2UMassA-1021–10At-large3Florida StateACC19–14At-large4MinnesotaBig Ten20–13At-large5MarylandACC18–14At-large62007 men Akron Zips AkronMAC23–10At-large72007 none Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. AustinSouthland26–5Automatic82007 men Robert Morris Colonials Robert Morris University Robert MorrisNEC26–7Automatic Bracket First round Second round Quarterfinals 1 Ohio State 84 8 UNC Asheville 66 4 California 68 5 New Mexico 66 3 Dayton 66 6 Cleveland State 57 2 Illinois State 61 7 Utah State 57 1 Ohio State^ 73 4 California 56 3 Dayton 55 2 Illinois State 48 1 Ohio State 74 3 Dayton 63 ^ Game played at nearby St. John Arena due to a Bruce Springsteen concert at Value City Arena. First round Second round Quarterfinals 1 Virginia Tech 94 8 Morgan State 62 4 VCU 77 5 UAB 80 3 Nebraska 67 6 Charlotte 48 2 Mississippi 83 7 UC Santa Barbara 68 1 Virginia Tech 75 5 UAB 49 3 Nebraska 75 2 Mississippi 85* 1 Virginia Tech 72 2 Mississippi 81 First round Second round Quarterfinals 1 Arizona State 64 8 Alabama State 53 4 Southern Illinois 69 5 Oklahoma State 53 3 Creighton 74 6 Rhode Island 73 2 Florida 73 7 San Diego State 49 1 Arizona State 65 4 Southern Illinois 51 3 Creighton 54 2 Florida 82 1 Arizona State 57 2 Florida 70 First round Second round Quarterfinals 1 Syracuse 87 8 Robert Morris 81 4 Minnesota 58 5 Maryland 68 3 Florida State 60 6 Akron 65* 2 Massachusetts 80 7 Stephen F. Austin 60 1 Syracuse 88 5 Maryland 72 6 Akron 63 2 Massachusetts 68 1 Syracuse 77 2 Massachusetts 81 Semifinals and Final Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 1 and 3 Semifinals Final 1 Ohio State 81 2 Mississippi 69 2 Florida 66 2 Massachusetts 78 1 Ohio State 92 2 Massachusetts 85 * - Overtime game. See also 2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2008 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2008 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2008 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2008 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2008 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament 2008 College Basketball Invitational References National Invitation National Invitation Tournament Category:2000s in Manhattan National Invitation Tournament Category:College basketball tournaments in New York City National Invitation Tournament Category:National Invitation Tournament Category:Sports competitions in Manhattan