The NIT reigns as March Madness’s overlooked, underrated cousin in postseason basketball. It’s a place where mid-majors get to show their chops, often proving that the quality of college basketball extends far beyond the field of 68 with teams like North Texas and Chattanooga cutting down the nets in recent years.
NIT bracket: How to watch Selection Show
It’s time to lock in for the NIT
One unique element of the NIT vs. the NCAA tournament is how the spirit of college basketball is preserved by playing the first three rounds at campus sites. This not only makes seeding extremely important to get an edge in the tournament, but also ensures the tournament retains the feeling and intensity of college basketball, without losing it to large arenas populated with a lot of non-fans.
This year the field of 32 returns. As mentioned, the first three rounds will be held at campus sites, before the final four is played at Hinkle Fieldhouse, at Butler University in Indianapolis. In terms of the teams at play, the 12 top conferences will all get one bid — with the top seeds often coming from teams just outside the bubble, as well as the runners-up from major conference finals. The remaining teams will be based on advanced metrics like KenPom to make up the field.
Once again, the NIT Bracket show will air on ESPN2, immediately following the announcement of the main NCAA tournament. Here’s how you can watch this year’s show:
Date: Sunday, March 15
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: Watch ESPN and ESPN+
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