2016 National Invitation Tournament

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2016 National Invitation Tournament
Season2015–16
Teams32
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsGeorge Washington Colonials (1st title)
Runner-upValparaiso Crusaders (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachMike Lonergan (1st title)
MVPTyler Cavanaugh (George Washington)
National Invitation Tournaments
«2015 2017»

The 2016 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2016 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament was played on campus sites for the first three rounds, with the Final Four and championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 15 and ended on Thursday, March 31. An experimental rule allowing players six personal fouls instead of five was approved for use in all national postseason tournaments except for the NCAA Tournament. The NIT Selection Show aired at 8:30 PM EDT on Sunday, March 13, 2016, on ESPNU. George Washington were the champions over Valparaiso 76–60. The Colonials victory was their first-ever NIT title.

Participants[edit]

Automatic qualifiers[edit]

The following 15 teams earned automatic berths into the 2016 NIT field by virtue of having won their respective conference's regular season championship but failing to win their conference tournaments or receive an at-large NCAA bid.

Team Conference Record Appearance Last bid
Akron MAC 26–8 4th 2012
Belmont Ohio Valley 20–11 3rd 2014
Bucknell Patriot 17–13 3rd 2015
High Point Big South 21–10 2nd 2014
Hofstra CAA 24–9 5th 2007
IPFW Summit 24–9 1st Never
Monmouth MAAC 27–7 1st Never
New Mexico State WAC 23–10 5th 2000
North Florida Atlantic Sun 22–11 1st Never
Saint Mary's WCC 27–5 5th 2015
San Diego State Mountain West 25–9 6th 2009
Texas Southern SWAC 18–14 2nd 2011
UAB C-USA 26–6 12th 2010
Valparaiso Horizon 26–6 3rd 2012
Wagner NEC 22–10 3rd 2002

At-large bids[edit]

The following 17 teams were also awarded NIT berths.

Team Conference Record Appearance Last bid
Alabama SEC 18–14 14th 2015
BYU West Coast 23–10 12th 2013
Creighton Big East 18–14 11th 2011
Davidson Atlantic 10 20–12 7th 2014
Florida SEC 19–14 10th 2009
Florida State ACC 19–13 10th 2014
George Washington Atlantic 10 23–10 6th 2015
Georgia SEC 19–13 13th 2014
Georgia Tech ACC 19–14 8th 2003
Houston American 22–9 10th 2006
Long Beach State Big West 20–14 8th 2013
Ohio State Big Ten 20–13 9th 2008
Princeton Ivy 22–6 6th 2002
South Carolina SEC 24–8 12th 2009
St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 22–8 16th 2002
Virginia Tech ACC 19–14 13th 2011
Washington Pac-12 18–14 8th 2013

Seeds[edit]

The first four teams left out of the NCAA tournament were the top seeds in the four regions, as in last year's tournament. They were St. Bonaventure, South Carolina, Monmouth and Valparaiso.[1]

St. Bonaventure Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 22–8 At-large
2 BYU West Coast 23–10 At-large
3 Virginia Tech ACC 19–14 At-large
4 Creighton Big East 18–14 At-large
5 Alabama SEC 18–14 At-large
6 Princeton Ivy 22–6 At-large
7 UAB C-USA 26–6 Automatic
8 Wagner Northeast 22–10 Automatic
South Carolina Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 South Carolina SEC 24–8 At-large
2 San Diego State Mountain West 25–9 Automatic
3 Washington Pac-12 18–14 At-large
4 Georgia Tech ACC 19–14 At-large
5 Houston American 22–9 At-large
6 Long Beach State Big West 20–14 At-large
7 IPFW Summit 24–9 Automatic
8 High Point Big South 21–10 Automatic
Valparaiso Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Valparaiso Horizon 26–6 Automatic
2 Saint Mary's West Coast 27–5 Automatic
3 Georgia SEC 19–13 At-large
4 Florida State ACC 19–13 At-large
5 Davidson Atlantic 10 20–12 At-large
6 Belmont Ohio Valley 20–11 Automatic
7 New Mexico State WAC 23–10 Automatic
8 Texas Southern SWAC 18–14 Automatic
Monmouth Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Monmouth MAAC 27–7 Automatic
2 Florida SEC 19–14 At-large
3 Ohio State Big Ten 20–13 At-large
4 George Washington Atlantic 10 23–10 At-large
5 Hofstra Colonial 24–9 Automatic
6 Akron MAC 26–8 Automatic
7 North Florida Atlantic Sun 22–11 Automatic
8 Bucknell Patriot 17–13 Automatic

Schedule[edit]

The NIT began on Tuesday March 15. The first three rounds were played on campus sites. The Final Four began on Tuesday, March 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and ended there with the championship game on Thursday, March 31.

Bracket[edit]

^Florida was not able to host home games at the O'Connell Center due to arena renovations.[2]

First round Second round Quarterfinals
         
1 Monmouth 90
8 Bucknell 80
1 Monmouth 71
4 George Washington 87
4 George Washington 82
5 Hofstra 80
4 George Washington 82
2 Florida^ 77
2 Florida^ 97
7 North Florida 68
2 Florida^ 74
3 Ohio State 66
3 Ohio State 72*
6 Akron 63
First round Second round Quarterfinals
         
1 St. Bonaventure 75
8 Wagner 79
8 Wagner 54
4 Creighton 87
4 Creighton 72
5 Alabama 54
4 Creighton 82
2 BYU 88
2 BYU 97
7 UAB 79
2 BYU 80
3 Virginia Tech 77
3 Virginia Tech 86*
6 Princeton 81
First round Second round Quarterfinals
         
1 South Carolina 88
8 High Point 66
1 South Carolina 66
4 Georgia Tech 83
4 Georgia Tech 81
5 Houston 62
4 Georgia Tech 56
2 San Diego State 72
2 San Diego State 79
7 IPFW 55
2 San Diego State 93
3 Washington 78
3 Washington 107
6 Long Beach State 102
First round Second round Quarterfinals
         
1 Valparaiso 84
8 Texas Southern 73
1 Valparaiso 81
4 Florida State 69
4 Florida State 84
5 Davidson 74
1 Valparaiso 60
2 Saint Mary's 44
2 Saint Mary's 58
7 New Mexico State 56
2 Saint Mary's 77
3 Georgia 65
3 Georgia 93
6 Belmont 84
Semifinals
March 29 		Final
March 31
      
1 Valparaiso 72
2 BYU 70
1 Valparaiso 60
4 George Washington 76
2 San Diego State 46
4 George Washington 65

* Denotes overtime period

Media[edit]

ESPN, Inc. had exclusive television rights to all NIT games. It will telecast every game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN3 (ESPNews was used for the Valparaiso–Florida State game). Since 2011, Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and championship. In 2016 Scott Graham and Kelly Tripucka provided the call.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2016 NIT bracket". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Florida/UNF Game Notes" (PDF). GatorZone.com. SideArm Sports. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
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