2014 National Invitation Tournament

The 2014 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament started on campus sites for the first 3 rounds, with the Final 4 and Championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 18 and ended on Thursday, April 3. Minnesota won this tournament after being the 3rd Big Ten team in a row to make the NIT Finals (the two previous years a Big Ten team had lost the final game).

2014 National Invitation Tournament
Season2013–14
Teams32
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsMinnesota Golden Gophers (3rd title)
Runner-upSMU Mustangs (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachRichard Pitino (1st title)
MVPAustin Hollins (Minnesota)
National Invitation Tournaments
«2013 2015»

Participants

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams earned automatic berths into the 2014 NIT field having won their respective conference's regular season championship, but failing to win their conference tournament.

ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bid
Belmont Ohio Valley 24–9 2nd 2004
Boston University Patriot 24–10 6th 2005
Davidson Southern 20–12 6th 2009
Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 22–12 1st Never
Georgia State Sun Belt 25–8 2nd 2002
Green Bay Horizon 24–6 3rd 1992
High Point Big South 16–14 1st Never
Iona MAAC 22–10 5th 1997
Louisiana Tech C-USA 27–7 8th 2013
Robert Morris Northeast 21–13 3rd 2013
UC Irvine Big West 23–11 5th 2002
Utah Valley WAC 20–11 1st Never
Vermont America East 22–10 3rd 2011

Southern from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was the league regular season champion and lost in their conference tournament but is ineligible for the NIT due to Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions.[1] No team from the SWAC received an NIT autobid.

Arizona (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Kansas (Big 12), Michigan (Big Ten), Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Villanova (Big East) received automatic bids to the NIT, but did not accept them as they were selected as at-large teams in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

At-large bids

The following 19 teams were also awarded NIT berths.

Team Conference Record Appearance Last bid
Arkansas SEC 21–11 3rd 1997
California Pac-12 19–13 8th 2011
Clemson ACC 20–12 15th 2007
Florida State ACC 19–13 9th 2013
Georgetown Big East 17–14 12th 2009
Georgia SEC 19–13 12th 2007
Illinois Big Ten 19–14 5th 2010
Indiana State Missouri Valley 23–10 4th 2013
LSU SEC 19–13 7th 2012
Minnesota Big Ten 20–13 15th 2012
Missouri SEC 22–11 8th 2005
Saint Mary's West Coast 22–11 3rd 2011
San Francisco West Coast 21–11 6th 2005
SMU American 23–9 3rd 2000
Southern Miss C-USA 27–6 10th 2013
St. John's Big East 20–12 30th 2013
Toledo MAC 27–6 8th 2007
Utah Pac-12 21–11 16th 2001
West Virginia Big 12 17–15 16th 2007

Seeds
SMU Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 SMU American 23–9 At-large
2 California Pac-12 19–13 At-large
3 Arkansas SEC 21–11 At-large
4 San Francisco West Coast 21–11 At-large
5 LSU SEC 19–13 At-large
6 Indiana State MVC 23–10 At-large
7 Utah Valley WAC 20–11 Automatic
8 UC Irvine Big West 23–11 Automatic
St. John's Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 St. John's Big East 20–12 At-large
2 Illinois Big Ten 19–14 At-large
3 Clemson ACC 20–12 At-large
4 Green Bay Horizon 24–6 Automatic
5 Belmont Ohio Valley 24–9 Automatic
6 Georgia State Sun Belt 25–8 Automatic
7 Boston University Patriot 24–10 Automatic
8 Robert Morris Northeast 21–13 Automatic
Florida State Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Florida State ACC 19–13 At-large
2 Georgia SEC 19–13 At-large
3 Louisiana Tech C-USA 27–7 Automatic
4 Georgetown Big East 17–14 At-large
5 West Virginia Big 12 17–15 At-large
6 Iona MAAC 22–10 Automatic
7 Vermont America East 22–10 Automatic
8 Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 22–12 Automatic
Minnesota Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Minnesota Big Ten 20–13 At-large
2 Missouri SEC 22–11 At-large
3 Southern Miss C-USA 27–6 At-large
4 Saint Mary's West Coast 22–11 At-large
5 Utah Pac-12 21–11 At-large
6 Toledo MAC 27–6 At-large
7 Davidson Southern 20–12 Automatic
8 High Point Big South 16–14 Automatic

Bracket

Games are played at higher seed unless noted

First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 24 		Quarterfinals
March 26
         
1 SMU 68
8 UC Irvine 54
1 SMU 80
5 LSU 67
4 San Francisco 63
5 LSU 71
1 SMU 67
2 California 65
2 California 77
7 Utah Valley 64
2 California 75
3 Arkansas 64
3 Arkansas 91
6 Indiana State 71
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 21, 23 		Quarterfinals
March 25
         
1 St. John's 78
8 Robert Morris 89
8 Robert Morris 71
5 Belmont 82
4 Green Bay 65
5 Belmont 80
5 Belmont 68
3 Clemson 73
2 Illinois 66
7 Boston University 62
2 Illinois 49
3 Clemson 50
3 Clemson 78
6 Georgia State 66

*#2 Illinois played at #7 Boston University and at #3 Clemson due to State Farm Center renovations.

First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 23 		Quarterfinals
March 25
         
1 Minnesota 88
8 High Point 81
1 Minnesota 63
4 Saint Mary's 55
4 Saint Mary's 70
5 Utah 58
1 Minnesota 81
3 Southern Miss 73
2 Missouri 85
7 Davidson 77
2 Missouri 63
3 Southern Miss 71
3 Southern Miss 66
6 Toledo 59
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 22, 24 		Quarterfinals
March 26
         
1 Florida State 58
8 Florida Gulf Coast 53
1 Florida State 101
4 Georgetown 90
4 Georgetown 77
5 West Virginia 65
1 Florida State 78
3 Louisiana Tech 75
2 Georgia 63
7 Vermont 56
2 Georgia 71
3 Louisiana Tech 79
3 Louisiana Tech 89
6 Iona 88
Semifinals
April 1 		Final
April 3
      
1 SMU 65
3 Clemson 59
1 SMU 63
1 Minnesota 65
1 Minnesota 67OT
1 Florida State 64

Media

ESPN has exclusive television rights to all NIT games. They aired every single game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.[2] Since 2011 Westwood One has held exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and championship. In 2014, John Tautges and Kelly Tripucka called these games for Westwood One.[3]

See also

References
  1. Katz, Andy (March 1, 2014). "NCAA gives SWAC exemption". espn.com. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  2. "Men's College Basketball: Exclusive Coverage of Every NIT Game across ESPN Networks". ESPN Media Zone. March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  3. "2014 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Semifinals & Championship TV & Radio Schedule". Eye on Sky and Air Sports. March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
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