Kentucky's eight national championships are the second-most all time in men's basketball, trailing only UCLA's 11. The returnees from the NIT championship team are scheduled to be introduced at halftime of today's 3 p.m. SIU men's basketball game against … The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off (formerly the Preseason NIT), was founded in 1985. After the win, BYU accepted an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, which at the time was not yet recognized as the decisive tournament for the country’s best team. The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky.Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of both all-time wins (2,320) and all-time winning percentage (.765). The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.There are two NIT events each season. It determines the champion of Division I, the top level of play in the NCAA, and the media often describes the winner as the national champion of college basketball. Shaka Smart's squad took down Lipscomb, 81-66, on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden to capture the NIT … Baum, the current radio analyst for Temple basketball, went on to play two seasons in the NBA and another three in the ABA, but the NIT championship remains among his biggest thrills. The Texas Longhorns are champions again. The Final Two changed somewhat in 1946 when both regional runners-up were invited to the championship site, but they could only play for third place. The NIT takes the next 32 best teams that did not make the NCAA tournament. 10 college basketball wishes for 2021; College basketball rankings: The Big 12 is a big winner with Baylor and Kansas right behind Gonzaga in the AP Top 25 poll; This season proves college basketball, as usual, is college football's chaotic cousin ; 2020-21 DI men’s college basketball … Men's Basketball Texas 81, Lipscomb 66: After up-and-down season, Longhorns are NIT champions Longhorns silence Bisons’ best scorer as program clinches its second NIT title He says the 1969 Temple team tries to get together about once a year. All regular season champions that did not win their conference tournament automatically qualify for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). North Carolina Tar Heels Tournament Appearances: 50 Final Fours: 20 Championships: 6 (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017) Win-Loss: 126-47 While the NIT conducted its entire tournament at Madison Square Garden, only the two regional champions made it to the NCAA championship site, which, from 1943–48, was also the Garden. The NCAA announced on Thursday, March 12 that all winter and spring championships have been canceled, including the 2020 NIT, due to concerns about the coronavirus: "Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. For the hardcore college basketball fan, we have now introduced bracketology for the NIT tournament (otherwise known as NITology). 1951 NIT Champions. In 1951, the Cougars defeated Dayton in the championship game of the National Invitational Tournament. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I Basketball Championship, or NCAA Tournament, is a single-elimination tournament for men's college basketball teams in the United States.