Led by future NBA stars Walt Frazier and Dick Garrett, the 1967 Southern Illinois Salukis were one of the elite teams in the NCAA College Division (now Division II), but ineligible to compete in the Division I tournament. After a 20-2 regular season that earned them a #1 ranking, they turned down their invitation to play in the small school College Division tournament so they could compete in the more prestigious National Invitation Tournament (NIT) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Frazier would become a star as the underdogs from SIU ran through St. Peter’s, Duke, Rutgers, and Marquette to win the NIT title and show they could play with anyone in the country.

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