1971 National Invitation Tournament


The 1971 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. 1971 was unique because it was the only time that major rivals Duke and North Carolina had played each other after the ACC tournament until the 2022 NCAA Final Four clash. Eventual ACC member Georgia Tech also made the semis, and lost to North Carolina in the championship. The fourth semifinalist, St. Bonaventure, was playing its first season following the departure of All-American Bob Lanier, who led the Brown Indians to the 1970 Final Four.

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.
TeamConferenceOverall recordAppearanceLast bid
Independent18–812th1968
DukeACC18–84th1970
Independent20–82nd1970
Independent22–41stNever
Middle Atlantic20–68th1965
Missouri Valley20–89th1970
MichiganBig Ten18–61stNever
North CarolinaACC22–62nd1970
Big Eight19–72nd1970
Independent19–77th1967
PurdueBig Ten18–61stNever
Independent18–58th1964
St. John'sIndependent18–820th1970
Independent19–65th1967
SEC20–63rd1969
Yankee23–32nd1970

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket.