2002 National Invitation Tournament
The 2002 National Invitation Tournament was the 2002 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.
Selected teams
Below is a list of the 40 teams selected for the tournament.[1]
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, was booked to host the East Regional of the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I 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 Georgetown 's players.[2]
Brackets/Results
Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.[1]
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Opening Round |
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First Round |
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Second Round |
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Quarterfinals |
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Syracuse |
76 |
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St. Bonaventure |
66 |
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Syracuse |
66 |
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Butler |
65 |
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Butler |
81 |
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Bowling Green |
69 |
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Syracuse |
62 |
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Richmond |
46 |
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Minnesota |
96 |
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New Mexico |
62 |
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Minnesota |
66 |
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Richmond |
67 |
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Richmond |
74 |
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Wagner |
67 |
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Richmond |
63 |
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Montana State |
48 |
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Montana State |
77 |
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Utah State |
69 |
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Opening Round |
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First Round |
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Second Round |
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Quarterfinals |
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Ball State |
98 |
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South Florida |
92 |
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Ball State |
75 |
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St. Joseph's |
65 |
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St. Joseph's |
73 |
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George Mason |
64 |
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Ball State |
75 |
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LSU |
65 |
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LSU |
63 |
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Iowa |
61 |
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Ball State |
47 |
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South Carolina |
82 |
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UNLV |
96 |
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Arizona State |
91 |
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UNLV |
65 |
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South Carolina |
75 |
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South Carolina |
74 |
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Virginia |
67 |
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Opening Round |
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First Round |
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Second Round |
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Quarterfinals |
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Temple |
81 |
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Fresno State |
75 |
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Temple |
65 |
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Louisville |
62 |
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Louisville |
66 |
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Princeton |
65 |
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Temple |
63 |
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Villanova |
57 |
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Villanova |
84 |
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Manhattan |
69 |
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Villanova |
67 |
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LA Tech |
64 |
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LA Tech |
83 |
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Louisiana-Lafayette |
63 |
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LA Tech |
83 |
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Vanderbilt |
68 |
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Vanderbilt |
59 |
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Houston |
50 |
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Opening Round |
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First Round |
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Second Round |
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Quarterfinals |
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Tennessee Tech |
64 |
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Georgia State |
62 |
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Tennessee Tech |
68 |
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Dayton |
59 |
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Dayton |
80 |
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Detroit |
69 |
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Tennessee Tech |
80 |
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Yale |
61 |
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Yale |
67 |
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Rutgers |
65 |
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Tennessee Tech |
73 |
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Memphis |
79 |
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BYU |
78 |
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UC Irvine |
55 |
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BYU |
69 |
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Memphis |
80 |
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Memphis |
82 |
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UNC-Greensboro |
62 |
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Semifinals & Finals
| Semifinals
| | | Finals
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| Syracuse
| 59
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| South Carolina
| 66
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| South Carolina
| 62
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| Memphis
| 72
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| Temple
| 77
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| Memphis
| 79
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- Third Place - Temple 65, Syracuse 64
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tournament Results (2000's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 5, 2009. Archived 11/5/09
- ↑ Horn, David, "Georgetown's Esherick the Class Act of March," The Michigan Daily, March 13, 2002.