2008 National Invitation Tournament

The 2008 National Invitation Tournament (known through sponsorship as the MasterCard NIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 71st annual tournament began on March 18 on campus sites and ended on April 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Each regular season conference champion that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the NIT Selection Committee. The first, second, and third rounds were played on the higher seeded team's home court, with the semi-finals and finals played at Madison Square Garden.

The Ohio State Buckeyes won the tournament.

Selection Committee
The 2008 NIT Selection Committee consists of the following former college basketball coaches and administrators:
 * Rudy Davalos
 * Don DeVoe
 * Gene Keady
 * Reggie Minton
 * C. M. Newton (Chair)
 * John J. Powers
 * Carroll Williams

Automatic qualifiers
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2008 NIT field after losing in their respective conference tournaments; by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship and not qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

Bracket
^ Game played at nearby St. John Arena due to a Bruce Springsteen concert at Value City Arena.

Semifinals and Final
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 1 and 3

* - Overtime game.