Men’s College Basketball: Exclusive Coverage of Every NIT Game Begins Tuesday

Mike Humes March 16, 2015

ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the entire 78th National Invitation Tournament (NIT) will begin with all 16 first-round games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18. The networks will follow the first round with all eight second-round matchups (March 20-23), the four quarterfinals (March 24-25), both semifinals (March 31) and championship (April 2).

Also, the entire NIT will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The 32-team field for the oldest tournament in college basketball was announced Sunday, March 15, during the ESPNU NIT Selection Show and comprises 23 teams with at least 20 wins, 12 automatic qualifiers and representation from 22 conferences. The top seeds are Colorado State, Old Dominion, Richmond and a Temple program making its 18th appearance in the event. Defending NCAA champion Connecticut will also play in this year’s event.

Automatic qualifiers UC Davis, NC Central and South Dakota State are the only three teams to play in the NIT for the first time, while St. Francis-Brooklyn will make its first appearance since 1963. Five teams in the 2015 field were also in the 2014 event: Green Bay, Illinois, Iona, Louisiana Tech and St. Mary’s (Calif.).

2015 NIT First Round Schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Tue, March 17	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 5 George Washington at No. 4 Pittsburgh Bob Wischusen, Dan Dakich	ESPN
	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 7 NC Central at No. 2 Miami (Fla.) Tom Hart, Stan Heath	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 6 Iona at No. 3 Rhode Island Jason Benetti, Tim Welsh	ESPNU
	7:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 6 Central Michigan at No. 3 Louisiana Tech Trey Bender, Kyle Macy	ESPN3
	8:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 7 William & Mary at No. 2 Tulsa Drew Fellios, Bryndon Manzer	ESPN3
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 3 Illinois at No. 6 Alabama Brad Nessler, Sean Farnham	ESPN
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 6 UTEP at No. 3 Murray State Rich Hollenberg, Darrin Horn	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 7 Montana at No. 2 Texas A&M Mike Morgan, Joe Dean Jr.	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 7 UC Davis at No. 2 Stanford Dave Flemming, Corey Williams	ESPN2
Wed, March 18	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 5 Arizona State at No. 4 Connecticut Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 8 Bucknell at No. 1 Temple Doug Sherman, Rob Kennedy	ESPN3
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 8 Charleston Southern at No. 1 Old Dominion Jim Barbar, Nate Ross	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 8 St. Francis-Brooklyn at No. 1 Richmond Roy Philpott, Malcolm Huckaby	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 5 Green Bay at No. 4 Illinois State Mike Couzens, Paul Biancardi	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 5 Vanderbilt at No. 4 St. Mary’s (CA) Roxy Bernstein, Miles Simon	ESPN2
	10 p.m.	NIT First Round: No. 8 South Dakota State at No. 1 Colorado State Mitch Holthus, Sean Harrington	ESPNU

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