1970 National Invitation Tournament

The 1970 National Invitation Tournament was unique in that coach Al McGuire of Marquette University, unhappy with his team's placement, turned down a bid to the NCAA tournament and elected to play in the NIT instead.[1] His Marquette Warriors went on to claim the championship.

1970 National Invitation Tournament
Season196970
Teams16
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsMarquette Warriors (1st title)
Runner-upSt. John's Redmen (7th title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachAl McGuire (1st title)
MVPDean Meminger (Marquette)
National Invitation Tournaments
«1969 1971»

Marquette was ranked 8th and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA slotted Marquette into the Midwest regional rather than the closer Mideast regional. McGuire was so displeased about this that Marquette actually turned down the NCAA bid and chose to instead play in the NIT. The NCAA no longer allows a school to turn down a bid to the NCAA tournament in order to play in another postseason tournament.

This tournament represented the final college games for LSU great Pete Maravich, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer. Maravich finished his three-year career with 3,667 points, 44.2 per game, records which stand through the 2017-18 season, despite the reinstitution of freshman eligibility and the introduction of the shot clock and 3-point shot. It was LSU's only postseason appearance between 1954 and 1979.

Selected teams

Participants
Army
Cincinnati
Duke
Duquesne
Georgetown
Georgia Tech
LSU
Louisville
Manhattan
Marquette
Massachusetts
Miami (OH)
North Carolina
Oklahoma
St. John's
Utah

Bracket

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
            
Manhattan 95
North Carolina 90
Manhattan 72
Army 77
Army 72
Cincinnati 67
Army 59
St. John's 60
Georgia Tech '78
Duquesne 68
Georgia Tech 55
St. John's 56
St. John's 70
Miami (OH) 57
St. John's 53
Marquette 65
Marquette 62
Massachusetts 55
Marquette 83
Utah 63
Utah 78
Duke 75
Marquette 101
LSU 79
Oklahoma 74
Louisville 73
Oklahoma 94
LSU 97
LSU 83
Georgetown 82
Third place game
   
Army 75
LSU 68

See also

References

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