1979 National Invitation Tournament
      
The 1979 National Invitation Tournament was the 1979 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.  Indiana University defeated their rival Purdue University 53-52 in the championship game.  Purdue appeared in the 1980 NCAA Men's Final Four while Indiana won the national championship at the 1981 NCAA Men's Final Four.
Selected teams
Below is a list of the 24 teams selected for the tournament.[1]
Brackets/Results
Below are the three first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.[1]
|  | First Round |  |  | Second Round |  |  | Quarterfinals |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  | 
|  |  | Indiana | 78 |  | 
|  | 
|  |  | Texas Tech | 59 |  | 
|  |  |  | Indiana | 72 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Alcorn State | 68 |  | 
|  |  | Alcorn State | 80 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Mississippi State | 78 |  | 
|  |  |  | Indiana |  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Ohio State |  |  | 
|  |  | Maryland | 67 |  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Rhode Island | 65 |  | 
|  |  |  | Maryland | 72 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Ohio State | 79 |  | 
|  |  | Ohio State | 80 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | St. Joseph's | 66 |  | 
|  | 
|  | 
-  Indiana and Ohio State received byes to the Semifinals.
|  | First Round |  |  | Second Round |  |  | Quarterfinals |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  | 
|  |  | Purdue | 97 |  | 
|  | 
|  |  | Central Michigan | 80 |  | 
|  |  |  | Purdue | 84 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Dayton | 70 |  | 
|  |  | Dayton | 105 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Holy Cross | 81 |  | 
|  |  |  | Purdue | 67 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Old Dominion | 59 |  | 
|  |  | Clemson | 68 |  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Kentucky | 67 |  | 
|  |  |  | Clemson | 59 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Old Dominion | 61 |  | 
|  |  | Old Dominion | 83 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Wagner | 81 |  | 
|  | 
|  | 
|  | First Round |  |  | Second Round |  |  | Quarterfinals |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  | 
|  |  | Nevada | 62 |  | 
|  | 
|  |  | Oregon State | 61 |  | 
|  |  |  | Nevada | 64 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Texas A&M | 67 |  | 
|  |  | Texas A&M | 79 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | New Mexico | 68 |  | 
|  |  |  | Texas A&M | 68 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Alabama | 72 |  | 
|  |  | Alabama | 98 |  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | St. Bonaventure | 89 |  | 
|  |  |  | Alabama | 90 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Virginia | 88 |  | 
|  |  | Virginia | 79 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Northeast Louisiana | 78 |  | 
|  | 
|  | 
Semifinals & Finals
|  | Semifinals |  |  | Finals |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Indiana | 64 |  | 
|  | 
|  |  | Ohio State | 55 |  | 
|  |  |  | Indiana | 53 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  |  | Purdue | 52 |  | 
|  |  | Purdue | 87 |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | Alabama | 68 |  | 
|  | 
|  | 
-  Third Place - Alabama 96, Ohio State 86
References
- 1 2  Tournament Results (1970's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 7, 2009. Archived 11/7/09