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).
Selected teams Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.Tournament Results (1970's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 7, 2009. Archived 11/7/09 TeamConferenceOverall recordAppearanceLast bidIndependent 18–8 12th 1968DukeACC 18–8 4th 1970Independent 20–8 2nd 1970Independent 22–4 1st NeverMiddle Atlantic 20–6 8th 1965Missouri Valley 20–8 9th 1970MichiganBig Ten 18–6 1st NeverNorth CarolinaACC 22–6 2nd 1970Big Eight 19–7 2nd 1970Independent 19–7 7th 1967PurdueBig Ten 18–6 1st NeverIndependent 18–5 8th 1964St. John'sIndependent 18–8 20th 1970Independent 19–6 5th 1967SEC 20–6 3rd 1969Yankee 23–3 2nd 1970
Bracket Below is the tournament bracket.
See also 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament 1971 NCAA College Division basketball tournament 1971 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1971 National Women's Invitational Tournament
References