1971 National Invitation Tournament

The 1971 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. 1971 was unique because it was the only time that major rivals Duke and North Carolina had played each other after the ACC tournament until the 2022 NCAA Final Four clash. Eventual ACC member Georgia Tech also made the semis, and lost to North Carolina in the championship. The fourth semifinalist, St. Bonaventure, was playing its first season following the departure of All-American Bob Lanier, who led the Brown Indians to the 1970 Final Four (Lanier was injured in the 1970 regional final vs. Villanova and did not play in either Final Four game).

1971 National Invitation Tournament
Season197071
Teams16
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsNorth Carolina Tar Heels (1st title)
Runner-upGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachDean Smith (1st title)
MVPBill Chamberlain (North Carolina)
National Invitation Tournaments
«1970 1972»

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.[1]

Team Conference Overall record Appearance Last bid
Dayton Independent 18–8 12th 1968
Duke ACC 18–8 4th 1970
Georgia Tech Independent 20–8 2nd 1970
Hawaii Independent 22–4 1st Never
La Salle Middle Atlantic 20–6 8th 1965
Louisville Missouri Valley 20–8 9th 1970
Michigan Big Ten 18–6 1st Never
North Carolina ACC 22–6 2nd 1970
Oklahoma Big Eight 19–7 2nd 1970
Providence Independent 19–7 7th 1967
Purdue Big Ten 18–6 1st Never
St. Bonaventure Independent 18–5 8th 1964
St. John's Independent 18–8 20th 1970
Syracuse Independent 19–6 5th 1967
Tennessee SEC 20–6 3rd 1969
UMass Yankee 23–3 2nd 1970

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket.[1]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
            
North Carolina 90
UMass 49
North Carolina 86
Providence 79
Providence 64
Louisville 58
North Carolina 73
Duke 69
Tennessee 84
St. John's 83
Tennessee 64
Duke 78
Duke 68
Dayton 60
North Carolina 84
Georgia Tech 66
Michigan 86
Syracuse 76
Michigan 70
Georgia Tech 78
Georgia Tech 70
La Salle 67
Georgia Tech 76
St. Bonaventure 71
St. Bonaventure 94
Purdue 79
St. Bonaventure 73
Hawaii 64
Hawaii 87
Oklahoma 86
Third place game
   
Duke 88
St. Bonaventure 92

See also

References

  1. Tournament Results (1970's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 7, 2009. Archived 11/7/09
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