ESPN Presents the National Invitation Tournament
- Exclusive Coverage of All 31 Games
- Semifinals and Championship Game at Madison Square Garden
- 79th Annual Post-Season Tournament
ESPN will have exclusive coverage of the entire 32-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT) beginning with the first round (March 15-16) and culminating with the semifinals (March 29) and championship game (March 31) from Madison Square Garden. The first round, along with the second round (March 17-21) and quarterfinals (March 22-23) will be from campus locations. The complete field for the 79th edition NIT was announced on ESPNU’s NIT Selection Special (March 13) and the bracket is available here.
NIT Field Highlights
- 1 Seeds: Monmouth, South Carolina, St. Bonaventure, Valparaiso
- 20+ Wins: 22 teams in the field have 20 or more wins with UAB and Albany both setting the high-water mark with 26.
- Conferences: A total of 24 conferences are represented
- Automatic Qualifiers: 15 teams were automatic qualifiers by virtue of winning their conference regular season
| Conference | Team |
| Atlantic Sun | North Florida |
| Big South | High Point |
| Colonial | Hofstra |
| Conference USA | UAB |
| Horizon | Valparaiso |
| Metro Atlantic | Monmouth |
| Mid-American | Akron |
| Mountain West | San Diego St. |
| Northeast | Wagner |
| Ohio Valley | Belmont |
| Patriot | Bucknell |
| Southwestern | Texas Southern |
| Summit | IPFW |
| West Coast | St. Mary’s (CA) |
| Western Athletic | New Mexico St. |
- At Large Bids: 17 teams received at large bids
| Conference | Team |
| Southeastern | Alabama |
| West Coast | BYU |
| Big East | Creighton |
| Atlantic 10 | Davidson |
| Southeastern | Florida |
| Atlantic Coast | Florida St. |
| Atlantic 10 | George Washington |
| Southeastern | Georgia |
| Atlantic Coast | Georgia Tech |
| American | Houston |
| Big West | Long Beach St. |
| Big Ten | Ohio St. |
| Ivy | Princeton |
| Southeastern | South Carolina |
| Atlantic 10 | St. Bonaventure |
| Atlantic Coast | Virginia Tech |
| Pac-12 | Washington |
First Round NIT Coverage
| Date | Time | Game and Commentators | Network |
| Tuesday, March 15 | 7 p.m. | No. 6 Akron at No. 3 Ohio State Bob Wischusen, Dan Dakich |
ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | No. 5 Davidson at No. 4 Florida State Mark Jones, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN2 | |
| 7 p.m. | No. 8 High Point at No. 1 South Carolina Rich Hollenberg, Dino Gaudio |
ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 5 Alabama at No. 4 Creighton Jason Benetti, Daymeon Fishback |
ESPN | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 6 Long Beach State at No. 3 Washington Roy Philpott, Corey Williams
|
ESPN2 | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 2 Florida at No. 7 North Florida Mike Morgan, Paul Biancardi |
ESPNU | |
| 9:15 p.m. | No. 8 Texas Southern at No. 1 Valpariso Jordan Bernfield, Mark Adams |
ESPN3 | |
| 10 p.m. | No. 7 IPFW at No. 2 San Diego State Trey Bender, Richie Schueler |
ESPN3 | |
| 11 p.m. | No. 7 New Mexico State at No. 2 Saint Mary’s Roxy Bernstein, Miles Simon |
ESPN2 | |
| Wednesday, March 16 | 7 p.m. | No. 6 Belmont at No. 3 Georgia Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham |
ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | No. 8 Wagner at No. 1 St. Bonaventure Doug Sherman, Julianne Viani |
ESPN3 | |
| Jonathan 7:30 p.m. | No. 8 Bucknell at No. 1 Monmouth Jonathan Yardley, Malcolm Huckaby |
ESPN3 | |
| 8 p.m. | No. 6 Princeton at No. 3 Virginia Tech Mike Couzens, Jason Capel |
ESPNU | |
| 8 p.m. | No. 5 Hofstra at No.4 George Washington Dave Leno, Craig Robinson |
ESPN3 | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 5 Houston at No. 4 Georgia Tech Tom Hart, Cory Alexander |
ESPN2 | |
| 10 p.m. | No. 7 UAB at No. 2 BYU Mitch Holthus, Corey Williams |
ESPNU |
The NIT will be available through WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner
