2010 National Invitation Tournament
The 2010 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The 73rd annual tournament began on March 16 on campus sites and ended on April 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Dayton won their 3rd NIT title (first title since 1968) over North Carolina, 79–68.
| Season | 2009–10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 32 | ||||
| Finals site | Madison Square Garden New York City | ||||
| Champions | Dayton Flyers (3rd title) | ||||
| Runner-up | North Carolina Tar Heels (2nd title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Brian Gregory (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Chris Johnson (Dayton) | ||||
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Participants
Automatic qualifiers
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2010 NIT field after losing in their respective conference tournaments; by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship and not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina | Big South | 28–6 | 1st | Never |
| Jackson State | SWAC | 19–12 | 2nd | 1993 |
| Jacksonville* | Atlantic Sun | 19–12 | 6th | 2009 |
| Kent State | MAC | 23–9 | 8th | 2005 |
| Quinnipiac | Northeast | 23–9 | 1st | Never |
| Stony Brook | America East | 22–9 | 1st | Never |
| Troy | Sun Belt | 20–12 | 2nd | 2004 |
| Weber State | Big Sky | 20–10 | 3rd | 2009 |
*Jacksonville split the Atlantic Sun regular season title with Campbell, Lipscomb and Belmont, but the conference tournament was won by fifth-seeded East Tennessee State. The Dolphins earned the automatic NIT bid by advancing the furthest of the four in the Atlantic Sun tournament even though Lipscomb was the #1 seed in the tournament.[1]
The entire 32-team field was announced on March 14, 2010 on The NIT Selection Show at 9 pm ET on ESPNU.
Seedings
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Bracket
Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team (except #1 Illinois in the first round)
Illinois bracket
| First round March 17 | Second round March 22 | Quarterfinals March 24 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Illinois | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Stony Brook | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Illinois | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Kent State | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Kent State | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Tulsa | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Illinois | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Dayton | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Dayton | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Illinois State | 42 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Dayton | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Cincinnati | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Cincinnati | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Weber State | 62 | ||||||||||||
Arizona State bracket
| First round March 16, 17 | Second round March 19, 20 | Quarterfinals March 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona State | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Jacksonville | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Jacksonville | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas Tech | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Seton Hall | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas Tech | 87 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas Tech | 87 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Mississippi (2OT) | 90 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Memphis | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | St. John's | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Memphis | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Mississippi | 90 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Mississippi | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Troy | 65 | ||||||||||||
Virginia Tech bracket
| First round March 16, 17 | Second round March 22 | Quarterfinals March 24 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Virginia Tech | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Quinnipiac | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Virginia Tech | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Connecticut | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Connecticut | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Northeastern | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Virginia Tech | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Rhode Island | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Wichita State | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Nevada | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Nevada | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Rhode Island | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Rhode Island | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Northwestern | 64 | ||||||||||||
First Round
espn2 |
March 16 7:00 pm ET |
| (5) Northeastern 57, (4) Connecticut 59 | ||
| Scoring by half: 26–34, 31–25 | ||
| Pts: Matt Janning 17 Rebs: Nkem Ojougboh 7 Asts: Matt Janning 4 Blocks: Nkem Ojougboh 2 |
Pts: Jerome Dyson 18 Rebs: Alex Oriakhi 9 Asts: Jerome Dyson 4 Blocks: Alex Oriakhi 2 | |
Harry S. Gampel Pavilion Attendance: 5,571 Referees: Mike Stephens, Bryan Kersey, John Gaffney |
Second Round
ESPN |
March 22 7:00 pm ET |
| (4) Connecticut 63, (1) Virginia Tech 65 | ||
| Scoring by half: 35–30, 28–35 | ||
| Pts: Kemba Walker 18 Rebs: Stanley Robinson 8 Asts: Kemba Walker 4 Blocks: Ater Majok, Charles Okwandu 2 |
Pts: Dorenzo Hudson 27 Rebs: Dorenzo Hudson 7 Asts: Malcom Delaney 9 Blocks: Terrell Bell 2 | |
Cassell Pavilion Attendance: 6,983 Referees: Karl Hess, Doug Shows, Jeff Anderson |
Mississippi State bracket
| First round March 16 | Second round March 20 | Quarterfinals March 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Mississippi State | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Jackson State | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Mississippi State | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | North Carolina | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | North Carolina | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | William & Mary | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | North Carolina | 60 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | UAB | 55 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | South Florida | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | NC State | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | NC State | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | UAB | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | UAB | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Coastal Carolina | 49 | ||||||||||||
NIT Final Four
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
| Semifinals March 30 | Championship April 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | Dayton | 68 | |||||||
| 2 | Mississippi | 63 | |||||||
| 3 | Dayton | 79 | |||||||
| 4 | North Carolina | 68 | |||||||
| 2 | Rhode Island | 67 | |||||||
| 4 | North Carolina (OT) | 68 | |||||||
Broadcasters
Local Radio
| Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | WTIC–AM | Joe D'Ambrosio | Wayne Norman |
| NC State | WRAL–FM/Wolfpack Sports Network[2] | Gary Hahn | Tony Haynes |
| North Carolina | Leafield/Tar Heel Sports Network | Woody Durham | Eric Montross |
See also
- 2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
- 2010 College Basketball Invitational
- 2010 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament