1966 National Invitation Tournament

1966 National Invitation Tournament

Season	1965–66
Teams	14
Finals site	Madison Square Garden New York City
Champions	BYU Cougars (2nd title)
Runner-up	NYU Violets (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Villanova Wildcats (3rd semifinal) Army Black Knights (3rd semifinal)
Winning coach	Stan Watts (2nd title)
MVP	Bill Melchionni (Villanova)
National Invitation Tournaments «1965 1967»

The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee and in 1948, as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA), which comprised representatives from five New York City schools: Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University, and Wagner College. Originally all of the teams qualifying for the tournament were invited to New York City, and all games were played at Madison Square Garden.

The tournament originally consisted of only 6 teams, which later expanded to 8 teams in 1941, 12 teams in 1949, 14 teams in 1965, 16 teams in 1968, 24 teams in 1979, 32 teams in 1980, and 40 teams from 2002 through 2006. In 2007, the tournament reverted to the current 32-team format.

Selected teams

Below is a list of the 14 teams selected for the tournament.

• Army
• Boston College
• BYU
• DePaul
• Louisville
• Manhattan
• NYU
• Penn State
• St. John's
• San Francisco
• Temple
• Villanova
• Virginia Tech
• Wichita State

Bracket

Below is the tournament bracket.

	First Round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Temple	88
		Virginia Tech	73
							Temple	78
							BYU	90
												BYU	66
												Army	60
		San Francisco	89
		Penn State	77
							San Francisco	63
							Army	80
		Army	71
		Manhattan	66
																	BYU	97
																	NYU	84
		NYU	68
		DePaul	65
							NYU	90
							Wichita State	84
												NYU	69
												Villanova	63
		Villanova	63
		St. John's	61
							Villanova	86
							Boston College	85
		Boston College	96
		Louisville	90

	Third place game
	Army		65
	Villanova		76

See also

• 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
• 1966 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament