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2012 National Invitation Tournament
2012 NIT Logo
Season2011–12
Teams32
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsStanford Cardinal (2nd title)
Runner-upMinnesota Golden Gophers (4th title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJohnny Dawkins (1st title)
MVPAaron Bright (Stanford)
National Invitation Tournaments
«2011 2013»

The 2012 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2012 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 13 on campus sites and ended on March 29 at Madison Square Garden.[1] Stanford defeated Minnesota in the final game, by a score of 75–51 to become NIT champions for second time (first since 1991).

Participants

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2012 NIT field by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship but failing to win their conference tournament. These teams also did not receive an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.

Team Conference Record Appearance Last bid
Akron MAC 22–11 5th 2008
Bucknell Patriot League 24–9 1st Never
Drexel Colonial 27–6 7th 2007
Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 25–6 3rd 1988
Nevada WAC 26–6 5th 2010
Oral Roberts Summit 27–6 8th 2005
Savannah State MEAC 21–11 1st Never
Stony Brook America East 22–9 2nd 2010
Texas–Arlington Southland 24–8 2nd 1981
Valparaiso Horizon 22–11 2nd 2003

Seeds

Washington Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Washington Pac-12 21–10 At-large
2 Dayton Atlantic 10 20–12 At-large
3 Oregon Pac-12 22–9 At-large
4 Northwestern Big Ten 18–13 At-large
5 Akron MAC 22–11 Automatic
6 LSU SEC 18–14 At-large
7 Iowa Big Ten 17–16 At-large
8 UT-Arlington Southland 24–8 Automatic
Tennessee Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Tennessee SEC 18–14 At-large
2 Miami (FL) ACC 19–12 At-large
3 La Salle Atlantic 10 21–12 At-large
4 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 25–6 Automatic
5 Marshall Conference USA 21–13 At-large
6 Minnesota Big Ten 19–14 At-large
7 Valparaiso Horizon 22–11 Automatic
8 Savannah State MEAC 21–11 Automatic
Seton Hall Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Seton Hall Big East 20–12 At-large
2 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 20–13 At-large
3 Drexel Colonial 27–6 Automatic
4 Mississippi State SEC 21–11 At-large
5 UMass Atlantic 10 22–11 At-large
6 UCF Conference USA 22–10 At-large
7 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 19–13 At-large
8 Stony Brook America East 22–9 Automatic
Arizona Bracket
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Arizona Pac-12 23–11 At-large
2 Mississippi SEC 20–13 At-large
3 Stanford Pac-12 21–11 At-large
4 Oral Roberts Summit 27–6 Automatic
5 Nevada WAC 26–6 Automatic
6 Cleveland State Horizon 22–10 At-large
7 Illinois State Missouri Valley 20–13 At-large
8 Bucknell Patriot 24–9 Automatic

Bracket

Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team except #7 seed Iowa hosts #2 seed Dayton since Dayton is the host of the NCAA First Four and cannot host a first-round NIT game.[1]

First round
March 13–14 		Second round
March 16–19 		Quarterfinals
March 20–21
ESPN
         
1 Washington 82
8 UT Arlington 72
1 Washington 76
4 Northwestern 55
4 Northwestern 76
5 Akron 74
1 Washington 90
3 Oregon 86
3 Oregon 96
6 LSU 76
3 Oregon 108
7 Iowa 97
2 Dayton 72
7 Iowa 84
First round
March 13–14 		Second round
March 16–19 		Quarterfinals
March 20–21
ESPN
         
1 Tennessee 65
8 Savannah State 51
1 Tennessee 64
4 Middle Tennessee 71
4 Middle Tennessee 86
5 Marshall 78
4 Middle Tennessee 72
6 Minnesota 78
3 La Salle 61
6 Minnesota 70
6 Minnesota 78
2 Miami (FL) 60
2 Miami (FL) 66
7 Valparaiso 50
First round
March 13–14 		Second round
March 16–19 		Quarterfinals
March 20–21
ESPN2
         
1 Seton Hall 63
8 Stony Brook 61
1 Seton Hall 67
5 UMass 77
4 Mississippi State 96
5 UMass 1012OT
5 UMass 72
3 Drexel 70
3 Drexel 81
6 UCF 56
3 Drexel 65
7 Northern Iowa 63
2 Saint Joseph's 65
7 Northern Iowa 67
First round
March 13–14 		Second round
March 16–19 		Quarterfinals
March 20–21
ESPN2
         
1 Arizona 54
8 Bucknell 65
8 Bucknell 67
5 Nevada 75
4 Oral Roberts 59
5 Nevada 68
5 Nevada 56
3 Stanford 84
3 Stanford 76
6 Cleveland State 65
3 Stanford 92OT
7 Illinois State 88
2 Ole Miss 93
7 Illinois State 96OT

Semifinals and final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 27 and March 29

Semifinals
March 27
ESPN2 		Championship
March 29
ESPN
      
1 Washington 67
6 Minnesota 68OT
6 Minnesota 51
3 Stanford 75
5 UMass 74
3 Stanford 84

See also

References

  1. ^ "2012 Postseason NIT Bracket" (PDF). ncaa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
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