2006 National Invitation Tournament

The 2006 National Invitation Tournament was the first time the tournament was planned and operated by the NCAA, taking over after 68 years under the auspices of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA). The 2006 NIT also saw changes made to the selection process as well as being the first time the NIT seeded the participants.^[1] The South Carolina Gamecocks won their second straight NIT title.

2006 National Invitation Tournament

Season	2005–06
Teams	40
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	South Carolina Gamecocks (2nd title)
Runner-up	Michigan Wolverines (3rd title game)
Semifinalists	Louisville Cardinals (3rd semifinal) Old Dominion Monarchs (1st semifinal)
Winning coach	Dave Odom (3rd title)
MVP	Renaldo Balkman (South Carolina)
National Invitation Tournaments «2005 2007»

Selected teams

Below are lists of the team selected for the tournament. This was the first year selected teams were given bracket seeds.^[2]

Maryland Bracket Seed School Conference #1 Maryland ACC #2 Saint Joseph's A-10 #3 Hofstra CAA #4 Colorado Big 12 #5 Old Dominion CAA #6 Nebraska Big 12 #7 Penn State Big Ten #8 Rutgers Big East #9 Manhattan MAAC #10 Fairleigh Dickinson NEC	Michigan Bracket Seed School Conference #1 Michigan Big Ten #2 Creighton MVC #3 Miami (FL) ACC #4 Vanderbilt SEC #5 Notre Dame Big East #6 Oklahoma State Big 12 #7 Temple A-10 #8 Akron MAC #9 UTEP C-USA #10 Lipscomb A-Sun
Louisville Bracket Seed School Conference #1 Louisville Big East #2 Missouri State MVC #3 Houston C-USA #4 Clemson ACC #5 Louisiana Tech WAC #6 BYU MWC #7 Stanford Pac-10 #8 Virginia ACC #9 Northern Arizona Big Sky #10 Delaware State MEAC	Cincinnati Bracket Seed School Conference #1 Cincinnati Big East #2 Florida State ACC #3 South Carolina SEC #4 Minnesota Big Ten #5 Wake Forest ACC #6 Western Kentucky Sun Belt #7 Miami (OH) MAC #8 Butler Horizon #9 Charlotte A-10 #10 Georgia Southern So-Con

Bracket

Below are the four brackets of the tournament, along with the bracket of the four-team championship round.^[2] Also the highest remaining seeds hosted the games.

Maryland Bracket

	Opening Round					First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	9	Manhattan	80
	10	Fairleigh Dickinson	77
						1	Maryland	84
						9	Manhattan	87
											9	Manhattan	66
											5	Old Dominion	70
						4	Colorado	61
						5	Old Dominion	79
																5	Old Dominion	61
																3	Hofstra	51
	7	Penn State	71
	8	Rutgers	76
						2	Saint Joseph's	71
						8	Rutgers	62
											2	Saint Joseph's	75
											3	Hofstra	77
						3	Hofstra	73
						6	Nebraska	62

Michigan Bracket

	Opening Round					First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	9	UTEP	85
	10	Lipscomb	66
						1	Michigan	82
						9	UTEP	67
											1	Michigan	87
											5	Notre Dame	84
						4	Vanderbilt	69
						5	Notre Dame	79
																1	Michigan	71
																3	Miami (FL)	65
	7	Temple	73
	8	Akron	80
						2	Creighton	71
						8	Akron	60
											2	Creighton	52
											3	Miami (FL)	53
						3	Miami (FL)	62
						6	Oklahoma State	59

Louisville Bracket

	Opening Round					First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinals
	9	Northern Arizona	53
	10	Delaware State	58
						1	Louisville	71
						10	Delaware State	54
											1	Louisville	74
											4	Clemson	68
						4	Clemson	69
						5	Louisiana Tech	53
																1	Louisville	74
																2	Missouri State	56
	7	Stanford	65
	8	Virginia	49
						2	Missouri State	76
						7	Stanford	67
											2	Missouri State	60
											3	Houston	59
						3	Houston	77
						6	BYU	67

Cincinnati Bracket

	Opening Round					First Round					Second Round					Quarterfinal
	9	Charlotte	77
	10	Georgia Southern	61
						1	Cincinnati	86
						9	Charlotte	80
											1	Cincinnati	76
											4	Minnesota	62
						4	Minnesota	73
						5	Wake Forest	58
																1	Cincinnati	62
																3	South Carolina	65
	7	Miami (OH)	52
	8	Butler	53
						2	Florida State	67
						8	Butler	63
											2	Florida State	68
											3	South Carolina	69
						3	South Carolina	74
						6	Western Kentucky	55

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
	5	Old Dominion	43
	1	Michigan	66
						1	Michigan	64
						3	South Carolina	76
	1	Louisville	63
	3	South Carolina	78

See also

• 2006 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2006 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2006 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2006 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2006 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament