1979 National Invitation Tournament

The 1979 National Invitation Tournament was the 1979 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Indiana University defeated their rival Purdue University 53–52 in the championship game. Purdue appeared in the 1980 NCAA Men's Final Four while Indiana won the national championship at the 1981 NCAA Men's Final Four.

1979 National Invitation Tournament

Season	1978–79
Teams	24
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	Indiana Hoosiers (1st title)
Runner-up	Purdue Boilermakers (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Alabama Crimson Tide (3rd semifinal) Ohio State Buckeyes (1st semifinal)
Winning coach	Bob Knight (1st title)
MVP	Butch Carter & Ray Tolbert (Indiana)
National Invitation Tournaments «1978 1980»

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 24 teams selected for the tournament.^[1]

• Alabama
• Alcorn State
• Central Michigan
• Clemson
• Dayton
• Holy Cross
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Mississippi State
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Northeast Louisiana
• Ohio State
• Old Dominion
• Oregon State
• Purdue
• Rhode Island
• Saint Joseph's
• St. Bonaventure
• Texas A&M
• Texas Tech
• Virginia
• Wagner

Brackets

Below are the three first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.^[1]

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	Indiana		78
	Texas Tech		59
						Indiana		72
						Alcorn State		68
	Alcorn State		80
	Mississippi State		78
											Indiana		64
											Ohio State		55
	Maryland		67
	Rhode Island		65
						Maryland		72
						Ohio State		79
	Ohio State		80
	Saint Joseph's		66

• Indiana and Ohio State received byes to the Semifinals.

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	Purdue		97
	Central Michigan		80
						Purdue		84
						Dayton		70
	Dayton		105
	Holy Cross		81
											Purdue		67
											Old Dominion		59
	Clemson		68
	Kentucky		67
						Clemson		59
						Old Dominion		61
	Old Dominion		83
	Wagner		81

	First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	Nevada		62
	Oregon State		61
						Nevada		64
						Texas A&M		67
	Texas A&M		79
	New Mexico		68
											Texas A&M		68
											Alabama		72
	Alabama		98
	St. Bonaventure		89
						Alabama		90
						Virginia		88
	Virginia		79
	Northeast Louisiana		78

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
	Indiana		64
	Ohio State		55
						Indiana		53
						Purdue		52
	Purdue		87
	Alabama		68

	Third place game
	Ohio State		86
	Alabama		96

See also

• 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
• 1979 NCAA Division II basketball tournament
• 1979 NCAA Division III basketball tournament
• 1979 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1979 National Women's Invitational Tournament