2003 National Invitation Tournament


The 2003 National Invitation Tournament was the 2003 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. This was the last NIT to include a third-place game until 2021.
During the following season, St. John's center Abe Keita revealed that a member of the team's staff had paid him nearly $300 a month for the past four seasons. As a result, St. John's took various actions, including vacating 43 wins in which Keita participated, among which were the team's victories and eventual championship in the 2003 NIT. St. John's became the third team in the history of the NIT to be forced to vacate its standing in the tournament. Marcus Hatten's tournament Most Valuable Player award also was vacated.

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 40 teams selected for the tournament.
SchoolConferenceRecordAppearanceLast bid
Big East18–1116th1993
America East20–103rd1986
Ivy17–111stNever
Southern24–73rd1996
C-USA16–1214th1999
DrexelColonial19–112nd1997
Big Sky18–121stNever
MAAC19–115th1996
GeorgetownBig East15–149th2000
Georgia TechACC14–147th1999
HawaiiWAC18–117th1998
IowaBig Ten15–134th2002
Iowa StateBig 1216–132nd1984
MAC22–85th2000
Sun Belt20–95th2002
Big Ten16–1210th2002
WAC18–133rd1997
North CarolinaACC17–155th1974
Ohio StateBig Ten17–147th1993
Big East16–1316th1999
Atlantic 1019–1010th1996
Atlantic 1016–127th2002
2002–03 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team|Big East16–1327th1995
C-USA16–1317th1996
Mountain West16–132nd1982
Big East17–1215th2001
MAAC19–105th2000
TempleAtlantic 1016–1513th2002
SEC17–1110th1996
Texas TechBig 1218–123rd1995
C-USA17–118th1998
Big West18–134th1993
Horizon21–81stNever
Mountain West21–107th2002
Mid-Continent20–101stNever
Big East15–1515th2002
VirginiaACC15–1510th2002
MAC19–102nd1992
Missouri Valley18–118th1989
Mountain West20–108th2001

Bracket

Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.

Semifinals & finals

NOTE: St. John's later vacated its tournament wins and title championship due to an ineligible player.