Testing solutions of new radio (NR) multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMIO) over-the-air (OTA) are discussed currently in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), and the 16 evenly spaced probes layout has been determined for frequency range1 (FR1) MIMO OTA testing, which doubles the cost compared to the long term evolution (LTE) testing solutions. A novel probe selection algorithm based on standard FR1 channel model characteristic is proposed in this paper, which can reduce cost by at least 1/8 in measurement system. Simulation results show that good constructive accuracy can be achieved for target reference channel models. Channel models verification with selected probes is further performed including the power delay profiler (PDP), the temporal correlation function (TCF), and the spatial correlation function (SCF) parameters.