Type: | NIT |
Year: | 2002 |
Teams: | 40 |
Finalfourarena: | Madison Square Garden |
Finalfourcity: | New York City |
Titlecount: | 1st |
Gamecount: | 1st |
Semifinal1: | Temple |
Semifinalcount: | 4th |
Semifinal2: | Syracuse |
Semifinalcount2: | 2nd |
Coach: | John Calipari |
Coachcount: | 1st |
Mop: | Dajuan Wagner |
Mopteam: | Memphis |
The 2002 National Invitation Tournament was the 2002 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.
Below is a list of the 40 teams selected for the tournament.[1]
School | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pac-10 | 14–14 | 8th | 2000 | |
MAC | 20–11 | 4th | 1998 | |
MAC | 24–8 | 13th | 2000 | |
Butler | Horizon | 25–5 | 7th | 1999 |
Mountain West | 17–11 | 9th | 2000 | |
Atlantic 10 | 20–10 | 20th | 2001 | |
Horizon | 18–12 | 8th | 1999 | |
WAC | 19–14 | 6th | 2001 | |
George Mason | Colonial | 19–9 | 2nd | 1986 |
A-Sun | 20–10 | 1st | Never | |
C-USA | 18–14 | 7th | 1993 | |
Iowa | Big Ten | 19–15 | 3rd | 1998 |
Sun Belt | 20–10 | 4th | 1985 | |
WAC | 20–9 | 5th | 1992 | |
Louisville | C-USA | 18–12 | 13th | 1985 |
SEC | 18–14 | 4th | 1983 | |
MAAC | 20–8 | 17th | 1996 | |
C-USA | 22–9 | 15th | 2001 | |
Big Ten | 17–12 | 10th | 2001 | |
Big Sky | 19–9 | 2nd | 1987 | |
Mountain West | 16–13 | 16th | 2001 | |
Princeton | Ivy | 16–11 | 5th | 2000 |
Atlantic 10 | 19–13 | 6th | 2001 | |
Big East | 18–12 | 12th | 2000 | |
Atlantic 10 | 18–11 | 7th | 1996 | |
SEC | 18–14 | 8th | 2001 | |
C-USA | 19–12 | 7th | 2000 | |
Atlantic 10 | 17–12 | 15th | 2001 | |
Syracuse | Big East | 20–11 | 10th | 1997 |
Temple | Atlantic 10 | 15–14 | 13th | 1989 |
Ohio Valley | 24–6 | 2nd | 1985 | |
UC Irvine | Big West | 21–10 | 4th | 2001 |
Southern | 20–10 | 1st | Never | |
Mountain West | 20–10 | 6th | 1999 | |
Big West | 23–7 | 6th | 1995 | |
SEC | 16–14 | 9th | 2000 | |
Big East | 17–12 | 15th | 2001 | |
Virginia | ACC | 17–11 | 9th | 2000 |
Northeast | 19–9 | 2nd | 1979 | |
Ivy | 20–10 | 1st | Never | |
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.[2]
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.[3]
Below are the four first-round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.