# 2009 National Invitation Tournament

The 2009 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 72nd annual tournament began on March 17 on campus sites and ended on April 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Penn State winning the final 69–63 over Baylor.

## Participants
### Automatic qualifiers

The following teams won their conference regular season title, but failed to win conference post season tournaments. Therefore, they were not awarded their respective conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. When they did not receive at-large selections to the NCAA tournament either, they automatically qualified for the 2009 NIT.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Bowling Green | MAC | 19–13 | 14th | 2002 |
| Davidson | Southern | 26–7 | 5th | 2005 |
| Jacksonville | Atlantic Sun | 18–13 | 5th | 1987 |
| UT Martin | Ohio Valley | 22–9 | 1st | Never |
| Weber State | Big Sky | 21–9 | 2nd | 1984 |

### Seedings

| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | San Diego State | MWC | 23–9 | At-large |
| 2 | Saint Mary's | WCC | 26–6 | At-large |
| 3 | South Carolina | SEC | 21–9 | At-large |
| 4 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 21–11 | At-large |
| 5 | Illinois State | MVC | 24–9 | At-large |
| 6 | Davidson | SoCon | 26–7 | Automatic |
| 7 | Washington State | Pac-10 | 17–15 | At-large |
| 8 | Weber State | Big Sky | 21–9 | Automatic |
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Auburn | SEC | 22–11 | At-large |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 18–14 | At-large |
| 3 | Baylor | Big 12 | 20–14 | At-large |
| 4 | Tulsa | C-USA | 24–10 | At-large |
| 5 | Northwestern | Big Ten | 17–13 | At-large |
| 6 | Georgetown | Big East | 16–14 | At-large |
| 7 | Duquesne | A-10 | 21–12 | At-large |
| 8 | UT Martin | OVC | 22–9 | Automatic |
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Creighton | MVC | 26–7 | At-large |
| 2 | Notre Dame | Big East | 18–14 | At-large |
| 3 | New Mexico | MWC | 21–11 | At-large |
| 4 | Kentucky | SEC | 20–13 | At-large |
| 5 | UNLV | MWC | 21–10 | At-large |
| 6 | Nebraska | Big 12 | 18–12 | At-large |
| 7 | UAB | C-USA | 22–11 | At-large |
| 8 | Bowling Green | MAC | 19–13 | Automatic |
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Florida | SEC | 23–10 | At-large |
| 2 | Penn State | Big Ten | 22–11 | At-large |
| 3 | Niagara | MAAC | 26–8 | At-large |
| 4 | Miami (FL) | ACC | 18–12 | At-large |
| 5 | Providence | Big East | 19–13 | At-large |
| 6 | Rhode Island | A-10 | 22–10 | At-large |
| 7 | George Mason | CAA | 22–10 | At-large |
| 8 | Jacksonville | A-Sun | 18–13 | Automatic |

## Bracket

Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team (except #4 Miami (FL) at #5 Providence)
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | San Diego State | 65 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Weber State | 49 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Weber State | 49 | 1 | San Diego State | 70 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Kansas State | 52 | | | |
| 4 | Kansas State | 83* | 4 | Kansas State | 52 | | | |
| 5 | Illinois State | 79 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Illinois State | 79 | | | | 1 | San Diego State | 70 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Saint Mary's | 66 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 63 | | | | | | | 2 | Saint Mary's | 66 |
| 6 | Davidson | 70 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Davidson | 70 | 6 | Davidson | 68 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Saint Mary's | 80 | | | |
| 2 | Saint Mary's | 68 | 2 | Saint Mary's | 80 | | | |
| 7 | Washington State | 57 | | | | | | |
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | Auburn | 87 | | | | | | |
| 8 | UT Martin | 82 | | | | | | |
| 8 | UT Martin | 82 | 1 | Auburn | 74 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Tulsa | 55 | | | |
| 4 | Tulsa | 68 | 4 | Tulsa | 55 | | | |
| 5 | Northwestern | 59 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Northwestern | 59 | | | | 1 | Auburn | 72 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Baylor | 74 |
| 3 | Baylor | 74 | | | | | | | 3 | Baylor | 74 |
| 6 | Georgetown | 72 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Georgetown | 72 | 3 | Baylor | 84 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Virginia Tech | 66 | | | |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 116** | 2 | Virginia Tech | 66 | | | |
| 7 | Duquesne | 108 | | | | | | |
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | Creighton | 73 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Bowling Green | 71 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Bowling Green | 71 | 1 | Creighton | 63 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Kentucky | 65 | | | |
| 4 | Kentucky | 70 | 4 | Kentucky | 65 | | | |
| 5 | UNLV | 60 | | | | | | |
| 5 | UNLV | 60 | | | | 4 | Kentucky | 67 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Notre Dame | 77 |
| 3 | New Mexico | 83 | | | | | | | 2 | Notre Dame | 77 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 71 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Nebraska | 71 | 3 | New Mexico | 68 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Notre Dame | 70 | | | |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 70 | 2 | Notre Dame | 70 | | | |
| 7 | UAB | 64 | | | | | | |
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | Florida | 84 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Jacksonville | 62 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Jacksonville | 62 | 1 | Florida | 74 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Miami (FL) | 60 | | | |
| 4 | Miami (FL) | 78 | 4 | Miami (FL) | 60 | | | |
| 5 | Providence | 66 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Providence | 66 | | | | 1 | Florida | 62 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Penn State | 71 |
| 3 | Niagara | 62 | | | | | | | 2 | Penn State | 71 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 68 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 68 | 6 | Rhode Island | 72 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Penn State | 83 | | | |
| 2 | Penn State | 77* | 2 | Penn State | 83 | | | |
| 7 | George Mason | 73 | | | | | | |

### Semifinals and finals

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 31 and April 2
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | San Diego State | 62 | | | |
| 3 | Baylor | 76 | | | |
| 3 | Baylor | 76 | 3 | Baylor | 63 |
| | | | 2 | Penn State | 69 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 59 | 2 | Penn State | 69 |
| 2 | Penn State | 67 | | | |
* denotes each overtime played

## Game summaries
### NIT Championship

| Team | 1st half | 2nd half | Final |
| Penn State | 25 | 44 | 69 |
| Baylor | 29 | 34 | 63 |
The Penn State Nittany Lions faced off against the Baylor Bears in the NIT Championship game. The Nittany Lions won the matchup 69–63, aided by Jamelle Cornley's 18 points. In a four-point deficit at the half, the Lions went on a 7–1 spurt to take a 2-point lead at the beginning of the second. After the Bears tied it at 37, Penn State made three consecutive threes from which Baylor could not recover.