The 2002 National Invitation Tournament was the 2002 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.
Selected teams Below is a list of the 40 teams selected for the tournament.Tournament Results (2000's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 5, 2009. Archived 11/5/09 SchoolConferenceRecordAppearanceLast bid Pac-1014–148th2000MAC20–114th1998MAC24–813th2000ButlerHorizon25–57th1999Mountain West17–119th2000Atlantic 1020–1020th2001Horizon18–128th1999WAC19–146th2001George MasonColonial19–92nd1986A-Sun20–101stNeverC-USA18–147th1993IowaBig Ten19–153rd1998Sun Belt20–104th1985WAC20–95th1992LouisvilleC-USA18–1213th1985SEC18–144th1983MAAC20–817th1996C-USA22–915th2001Big Ten17–1210th2001Montana StateBig Sky19–92nd1987Mountain West16–1316th2001PrincetonIvy16–115th2000Atlantic 1019–136th2001Big East18–1212th2000Atlantic 1018–117th1996SEC18–148th2001C-USA19–127th2000Atlantic 1017–1215th2001SyracuseBig East20–1110th1997TempleAtlantic 1015–1413th1989Ohio Valley24–62nd1985UC IrvineBig West21–104th2001Southern20–101stNeverMountain West20–106th1999Big West23–76th1995SEC16–149th2000Big East17–1215th2001VirginiaACC17–119th2000Northeast19–92nd1979Ivy20–101stNever
Georgetown declines invitation Big East Conference member Georgetown originally was among the teams selected, but declined to take part. Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick explained that Georgetown's home court, the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., was booked to host the East Regional of the 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, meaning that accepting the NIT invitation would have required the Hoyas to play on the road in the West for two weeks, forcing his players to miss many of their classes. After playing a similar schedule the previous season during the 2001 NCAA tournament, Esherick had concluded that missing so many classes to play in the NIT, a tournament which did not offer a chance for a national championship, was not in the best interest of Georgetowns players.Horn, David, "Georgetown's Esherick the Class Act of March," The Michigan Daily, March 13, 2002.
Esherick's controversial decision meant that Georgetown had no postseason play for the first time since the 1973–74 season. Georgetown became the first team to turn down an NIT bid since Louisville turned down a bid to the 1987 NIT.Associated Press, "Georgetown Declines NIT Bid," The Daily Utah Chronicle, March 12, 2002.
Bracket Below are the four first-round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.
Semifinals & finals
See also 2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2002 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2002 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2002 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2002 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
References