2026 National Invitation Tournament

2026 National Invitation Tournament
Season2025–26
Teams32
Finals siteGainbridge Fieldhouse,
Indianapolis, Indiana
National Invitation Tournaments
«2025 2027»

The 2026 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an ongoing single-elimination tournament of thirty-two NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams not selected to participate in the 2026 NCAA tournament. The tournament commenced on March 17 and will conclude on April 5. The first three rounds will be played on campus sites, with the semifinal round played at Hinkle Fieldhouse and the final played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, both in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Chattanooga are the defending NIT champions.

Participants

Teams and pairings for the 2026 NIT were released by the NIT Committee on March 15, 2026. Thirty-two teams qualified for the NIT, including exempt qualifiers, automatic qualifiers, and at-large selections.[1]

Non-NCAA tournament teams from the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences are contractually prohibited from playing in any other postseason tournament, including the NIT, if they decline an invitation or remove themselves from consideration for a bid to the College Basketball Crown.[2]

Exempt qualifiers

For the 2026 NIT, exempt bids were extended to two teams from the Atlantic Coast (ACC) and Southeastern (SEC) conferences, plus one team from each of the top twelve conferences as rated by the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom) on the morning of March 15, 2026. Exempt qualifiers are seeded and guaranteed the opportunity to host a first-round game, subject to venue availability. The KenPom conference ratings[3] used to determine exempt qualifier status were as follows:

Rank Conference Pomeroy
rating
1 Southeastern Conference +19.55
2 Big Ten Conference +18.27
3 Big 12 Conference +18.21
4 Atlantic Coast Conference +15.17
5 Big East Conference +13.53
6 Mountain West Conference +9.31
7 Atlantic 10 Conference +4.71
8 West Coast Conference +4.04
9 Missouri Valley Conference +3.34
10 American Conference +1.40
11 Big West Conference -0.67
12 Western Athletic Conference -0.80
13 Conference USA -1.92
14 Ivy League -2.20
15 Big Sky Conference -2.29
16 Coastal Athletic Association -2.55
17 Mid-American Conference -3.01
18 Southland Conference -4.14
19 Horizon League -4.68
20 Sun Belt Conference -5.87
21 Summit League -7.10
22 Big South Conference -7.36
23 Southern Conference -8.25
24 Atlantic Sun Conference -8.72
25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference -9.87
26 Ohio Valley Conference -10.99
27 Patriot League -11.47
28 Southwestern Athletic Conference -14.07
29 Northeast Conference -14.59
30 America East Conference -16.56
31 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference -20.95

The teams accepting exempt bids are shown below. No schools from the Big East or Big Ten accepted invitations. Only two of the ACC's and one of the SEC's three exempt bids were accepted, creating five additional at-large berths.

Team Conference Overall
record 		Seed Appearance Last
bid
Tulsa American 26–7 (.788) 1 11th 2015
California ACC 21–11 (.656) 2 10th 2017
Wake Forest ACC 17–16 (.515) 1 9th 2024
Dayton A–10 23–11 (.676) 2 29th 2025
UC Irvine Big West 23–11 (.676) 4 10th 2025
Oklahoma State Big 12 19–14 (.576) 2 15th 2025
Illinois State MVC 20–12 (.625) 4 15th 2017
New Mexico MWC 23–10 (.697) 1 21st 2023
Auburn SEC 17–16 (.515) 1 7th 2009
Seattle WCC 20–13 (.606) 4 3rd 1957
Utah Valley WAC 25–8 (.758) 4 4th 2025

The final KNIT (average of Bart Torvik "T-Rank" Ranking (BTR), ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), Ken Pomeroy Rating (KPR), Kevin Pauga Index (KPI), NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), Strength of Record (SOR) ranking, and Wins Above Bubble (WAB) ranking) scores of non-NCAA tournament teams from conferences that earned exempt bids through the close of play on March 14, 2026, the morning of (Selection Sunday), are summarized in the tables below. Teams in bold accepted a bid; teams in italics were extended an automatic bid but rejected it. Some Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12 teams were contractually obligated to decline.

Atlantic Coast Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Virginia Tech 56 53 66 55 48 55 55 59
Stanford 60 59 75 57 44 61 63 61
Florida State 62 50 69 56 64 62 66 67
California 66 68 80 74 57 68 57 56
Wake Forest 69 67 61 73 68 67 72 78
Syracuse 86 82 78 83 88 86 93 95
Notre Dame 98 97 88 89 100 94 106 112
Pittsburgh 109 102 94 94 107 104 120 141
Boston College 166 139 153 155 181 158 172 207
Georgia Tech 169 160 136 162 184 169 172 200
Southeastern Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Auburn 40 41 28 38 46 38 43 45
Oklahoma 48 40 41 40 67 48 47 53
Ole Miss 75 64 51 65 94 82 78 94
LSU 79 69 53 60 114 78 83 93
Mississippi State 102 98 81 100 119 112 92 111
South Carolina 109 100 92 95 146 108 100 122
American Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Tulsa 62 65 68 63 61 52 62 65
Wichita State 80 84 84 82 71 74 79 83
UAB 118 137 104 128 101 118 113 124
Florida Atlantic 132 123 120 129 128 123 136 162
North Texas 133 141 121 136 122 137 134 143
Memphis 143 133 103 134 142 134 157 197
Temple 171 143 132 165 182 167 193 212
Charlotte 181 172 187 183 169 173 172 211
Tulane 185 201 194 212 141 207 155 182
Rice 222 211 198 226 234 243 193 246
East Carolina 250 259 255 254 244 267 193 280
UTSA 314 336 318 340 320 344 193 347
Atlantic 10 Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Dayton 64 78 64 77 43 69 54 64
George Mason 87 118 85 96 59 92 75 81
Saint Joseph's 103 99 119 118 84 121 87 90
George Washington 104 83 73 85 117 91 130 150
Davidson 112 106 110 114 110 115 110 117
Duquesne 129 121 128 127 115 133 129 148
Rhode Island 146 151 115 135 123 151 156 192
St. Bonaventure 152 154 124 139 127 143 167 208
Richmond 175 168 138 160 175 165 193 227
Fordham 176 177 163 166 187 174 172 193
La Salle 231 216 223 233 209 246 193 295
Loyola Chicago 262 275 241 280 249 278 193 315
Big East Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Seton Hall 54 60 54 51 60 53 48 50
Creighton 80 85 62 78 85 83 80 89
Butler 81 72 65 87 89 84 82 91
Providence 82 74 59 72 97 81 94 100
Georgetown 86 79 71 80 92 90 90 97
Xavier 97 94 97 97 104 97 91 98
DePaul 101 101 99 102 109 102 95 102
Marquette 102 76 76 84 125 93 116 144
Big Ten Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Indiana 47 34 38 45 69 41 50 51
Washington 65 52 50 53 90 57 77 79
USC 69 66 67 81 70 79 60 62
Northwestern 74 63 58 58 106 66 84 85
Minnesota 80 58 70 79 98 80 88 88
Oregon 106 90 89 99 118 109 109 125
Maryland 117.6 113 98 120 143 138 101 110
Rutgers 118.0 117 109 124 134 135 99 108
Penn State 137 140 127 138 149 141 125 140
Big West Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
UC Irvine 113 108 111 104 102 117 132 119
UC San Diego 124 122 142 117 116 124 131 118
UC Santa Barbara 155 127 147 130 165 142 193 183
Cal State Northridge 172.7 167 195 175 153 188 171 160
UC Davis 172.9 164 205 158 160 178 180 165
Cal State Fullerton 186 193 222 168 157 177 193 189
Cal Poly 227 217 267 211 228 225 193 249
Long Beach State 254 239 278 231 269 257 193 313
UC Riverside 260 248 280 258 264 273 193 306
Cal State Bakersfield 308 324 329 326 315 330 193 342
Big 12 Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Cincinnati 52 32 43 44 56 49 68 70
Baylor 58 47 45 48 76 50 70 72
West Virginia 61 62 47 59 65 59 69 68
Oklahoma State 64 75 74 66 47 75 53 58
Arizona State 67 61 90 67 58 73 59 63
Colorado 76 77 91 70 72 77 73 75
Kansas State 106 103 87 101 112 100 107 132
Utah 136 115 107 126 145 132 151 175
Missouri Valley Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Belmont 67 81 96 69 45 63 61 55
Illinois State 103 110 100 103 86 95 115 115
Murray State 114 135 123 122 93 105 108 109
Bradley 117 134 116 123 95 113 119 120
UIC 127 111 117 105 120 110 153 171
Southern Illinois 143 129 126 116 126 120 188 195
Valparaiso 161 163 177 157 162 156 150 161
Drake 207 215 184 197 189 199 193 274
Indiana State 223 205 215 201 242 213 193 291
Evansville 288 302 307 308 260 306 193 339
Mountain West Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
San Diego State 48 44 56 47 40 47 56 47
New Mexico 53 54 55 50 49 46 64 52
Boise State 65 56 79 61 55 60 74 71
Grand Canyon 72 55 72 62 75 71 85 82
Nevada 74 80 83 75 62 70 76 69
Colorado State 84 88 86 86 74 87 89 80
Wyoming 105 95 118 98 103 99 114 106
UNLV 108 109 105 108 82 111 118 121
Fresno State 165 131 155 132 176 153 193 213
San Jose State 231 214 233 225 224 244 193 282
Air Force 320 343 355 345 297 350 193 356
West Coast Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Seattle 120 104 129 119 139 122 121 107
Pacific 127.6 107 130 112 154 116 140 134
San Francisco 128.1 124 106 121 152 119 138 137
Oregon State 158 162 171 177 130 170 147 147
Washington State 171 125 164 137 202 145 193 230
Loyola Marymount 178 147 149 161 206 179 193 210
Portland 214 188 272 202 203 222 193 217
San Diego 233 213 234 224 261 234 193 271
Pepperdine 265 254 287 264 284 274 193 301
Western Athletic Conference
Team KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Utah Valley 89 87 113 90 78 85 96 76
UT Arlington 168 182 197 153 147 161 182 156
Utah Tech 182 183 238 188 151 176 182 157
Tarleton 229 225 269 221 220 230 193 242
Abilene Christian 242 255 274 242 230 248 193 255
Southern Utah 263 262 293 251 256 272 193 312

Automatic qualifiers

Automatic bids are given to regular-season conference champions with an average ranking (or "KNIT" score) of 125 or better across the BTR, BPI, KPR, KPI, NET, SOR and WAB rankings.[10]

The final KNIT scores through the close of play on March 14, 2026 (the morning of Selection Sunday), of teams that were conference regular-season champions, failed to win their conference tournament and are not from conferences receiving an exempt bid are summarized in the table below.

Team Conference KNIT BTR[4] BPI[5] KPR[6] KPI[7] NET[8] SOR[9] WAB[4]
Central Arkansas ASUN 157 144 190 151 178 166 137 131
Portland State Big Sky 160 158 192 146 205 146 149 127
UNC Wilmington CAA 97 126 108 110 80 96 81 77
Liberty CUSA 96 120 101 125 73 106 71 73
Yale Ivy 71 91 95 76 54 65 58 57
Merrimack MAAC 156 170 188 179 111 180 133 129
Miami (OH) [a] MAC 64 86 93 93 53 64 25 34
Navy Patriot 136 148 141 142 190 136 103 92
East Tennessee State SoCon 155 196 143 167 148 139 144 145
Stephen F. Austin Southland 88 89 114 91 105 89 65 60
Bethune–Cookman SWAC 227 224 246 243 253 261 193 167
  1. ^ Miami (OH) was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and, therefore, does not have an automatic bid for the NIT.

Teams qualifying for and accepting automatic bids were as follows:

Team Conference Overall
record 		Seed Appearance Last
bid
Liberty CUSA 25–7 (.781) - 2nd 2023
Stephen F. Austin Southland 28–5 (.848) - 4th 2013
UNC Wilmington CAA 26–6 (.813) - 3rd 2001
Yale Ivy 24–6 (.800) 3 3rd 2023

At-large bids

After eleven of the sixteen available exempt bids were accepted, and four teams qualified for and accepted automatic bids, seventeen at-large bids were available to fill the 32-team field. The following teams accepted at-large bids.

Team Conference Overall
record 		Seed Appearance Last
bid
Bradley MVC 21–12 (.636) - 25th 2025
Colorado State MWC 21–12 (.636) 3 11th 2021
Davidson Atlantic 10 20–13 (.606) - 10th 2021
George Mason Atlantic 10 23–9 (.719) 3 6th 2025
George Washington Atlantic 10 18–15 (.545) - 7th 2016
Kent State MAC 24–9 (.727) - 11th 2025
Murray State MVC 20–12 (.625) - 9th 2015
Navy Patriot 26–7 (.788) - 2nd 1962
Nevada MWC 22–12 (.647) 2 6th 2012
Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 22–11 (.667) - 19th 2025
Sam Houston CUSA 22–11 (.667) - 3rd 2023
South Alabama [11] Sun Belt 21–11 (.656) - 5th 2007
St. Thomas Summit 24–9 (.727) - 1st -
UIC MVC 19–15 (.559) - 2nd 2003
UNLV MWC 17–16 (.515) - 12th 2024
Wichita State American 22–11 (.667) 3 15th 2025
Wyoming MWC 18–14 (.563) - 9th 2003

Declined bids

Teams contractually obligated to decline

Teams from the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences that either preemptively declined an opportunity or were offered a bid to play in the 2026 College Basketball Crown were contractually forbidden from participating in the NIT.

† Participating in 2026 College Basketball Crown.

Other teams declined

Bracket

Since only 11 exempt qualifiers accepted bids, five automatic/at-large teams were seeded to complete the 32-team bracket. Nevada was awarded a number two seed, while Colorado State, George Mason, Wichita State and Yale were assigned number three seeds.

Auburn Region

First round
March 17–18
Campus sites 		Second round
March 21–22
Campus sites 		Quarterfinal
March 25
Campus site
         
1 Auburn 78
  South Alabama 67
1 Auburn 91
4 Seattle 85
4 Seattle 67
  St. Thomas (MN) 52
1 Auburn
2 Nevada
2 Nevada 89
  Murray State 75
2 Nevada 73
  Liberty 63
3 George Mason 71
  Liberty 77

Albuquerque Region

First round
March 18
Campus sites 		Second round
March 22
Campus sites 		Quarterfinal
March 24
Campus site
         
1 New Mexico 107
  Sam Houston 83
1 New Mexico 86
  George Washington 61
4 Utah Valley 78
  George Washington 79
1 New Mexico 84
  Saint Joseph's 69
2 California 91
  UIC 73
2 California 75
  Saint Joseph's 76
3 Colorado State 64
  Saint Joseph's 69

Tulsa Region

First round
March 17
Campus sites 		Second round
March 22
Campus sites 		Quarterfinal
March 24
Campus site
         
1 Tulsa 89
  Stephen F. Austin 84 OT
1 Tulsa 77
  UNLV 66
4 UC Irvine 72
  UNLV 75
1 Tulsa 83
3 Wichita State 79
2 Oklahoma State 84
  Davidson 80
2 Oklahoma State 70
3 Wichita State 96
3 Wichita State 74
  Wyoming 70

Winston-Salem Region

First round
March 17–18
Campus sites 		Second round
March 21–22
Campus sites 		Quarterfinal
March 25
Campus site
         
1 Wake Forest 82
  Navy 72
1 Wake Forest 75
4 Illinois State 78
4 Illinois State 79
  Kent State 58
4 Illinois State
2 Dayton
2 Dayton [a] 80
  Bradley 66
2 Dayton [b] 80
  UNC Wilmington 61
3 Yale 67
  UNC Wilmington 68
Notes
  1. ^ Dayton traveled to Peoria, Illinois to play an away game due to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament First Four taking place at UD Arena.
  2. ^ Dayton traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina to play an away game due to the OHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships taking place at UD Arena.[19]

Semifinals and Final

Semifinal
April 2
Hinkle Fieldhouse 		Final
April 5
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
      
   
   
   
   
 1 New Mexico
 1 Tulsa
Notes

Game Summaries

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

First round

March 17
6:00 p.m. EDT
No. 3 George Mason 71, Liberty 77
Scoring by half: 24–34, 47–43
Pts: 27 – Long
Rebs: 9 – Mincy
Asts: 4 – Long		 Pts: 23 – Smith
Rebs: 9 – Smith
Asts: 7 – Cleveland
Auburn Region Quarterfinal
EagleBank Arena
Fairfax, Virginia
Attendance: 1,485
Referees: Luckie, Sassano, Switzer
March 17
7:00 p.m.
No. 3 Yale 67, UNC Wilmington 68
Scoring by half: 32–26, 35–42
Pts: 23 – Celiscar
Rebs: 12 – Celiscar
Asts: 5 – Tied (2)		 Pts: 16 – May
Rebs: 9 – Wessler
Asts: 4 – Tied (2)
Winston-Salem Region Quarterfinal
John J. Lee Amphitheater
New Haven, Connecticut
Attendance: 542
Referees: Evans, Fleury, Mallios
March 17
7:00 p.m.
No. 3 Wichita State 74, Wyoming 70
Scoring by half: 28–24, 46–46
Pts: 17 – Williams
Rebs: 14 – Williams
Asts: 5 – Gray Jr.		 Pts: 17 – Dennis
Rebs: 7 – Meyer
Asts: 6 – Walker
Tulsa Region Quarterfinal
Charles Koch Arena
Wichita, Kansas
Attendance: 3,733
Referees: Jarman, Orkus Jr., Swoboda
ESPN2
March 17
8:00 p.m.
No. 2 Oklahoma State 84, Davidson 80
Scoring by half: 40–50, 44–30
Pts: 20 – Clary
Rebs: 13 – Coleman
Asts: 4 – Crotty		 Pts: 22 – Blums
Rebs: 6 – Scovens
Asts: 5 – Tied (2)
Tulsa Region Quarterfinal
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Attendance: 1,581
Referees: Campbell, Felder, Jeffres
ESPNU
March 17
9:00 p.m.
No. 1 Tulsa 89, Stephen F. Austin 84 (OT)
Scoring by half: 36–39, 40–37 Overtime: 13–8
Pts: 24 – Lawal
Rebs: 12 – Behrend
Asts: 3 – Riley		 Pts: 27 – Thompson
Rebs: 7 – Tied (2)
Asts: 5 – Tied (2)
Tulsa Region Quarterfinal
Donald W. Reynolds Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Attendance: 1,679
Referees: Deering, Seales, Wallace
ESPN2
March 17
10:00 p.m.
No. 1 Auburn 78, South Alabama 67
Scoring by half: 30–36, 48–31
Pts: 21 – Tied (2)
Rebs: 10 – Freeman
Asts: 4 – Tied (3)		 Pts: 29 – Harris
Rebs: 9 – Williams
Asts: 6 – Harris
Auburn Region Quarterfinal
Neville Arena
Auburn, Alabama
Attendance: 2,169
Referees: Allen, Cybrum, Ford
ESPN+
March 17
10:00 p.m.
No. 4 Seattle 67, St. Thomas (MN) 52
Scoring by half: 30–31, 37–21
Pts: 14 – Maldonado
Rebs: 9 – Arington
Asts: 5 – Maldonado		 Pts: 15 – Minessale
Rebs: 9 – Oosterbaan
Asts: 4 – Minessale
Auburn Region Quarterfinal
Redhawk Center
Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 686
Referees: Ames, Fulton, Shamion
ESPNU
March 17
11:00 p.m.
No. 4 UC Irvine 72, UNLV 75
Scoring by half: 24–37, 48–38
Pts: 18 – Saran
Rebs: 13 – Evans
Asts: 6 – Saran		 Pts: 14 – Hamilton
Rebs: 9 – Fleming Jr.
Asts: 4 – Tied (2)
Tulsa Region Quarterfinal
Bren Events Center
Irvine, California
Attendance: 1,113
Referees: Barney, Harvey III, Mojica
ESPNU
March 18
7:00 p.m.
No. 1 Wake Forest 82, Navy 72
Scoring by half: 38–34, 44–38
Pts: 26 – Harris
Rebs: 9 – Spillers
Asts: 3 – Tied (3)		 Pts: 19 – Benigni
Rebs: 10 – Kehoe
Asts: 4 – Benigni
Winston-Salem Region Quarterfinal
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Attendance: 1,823
Referees: Heater, Styons, Wells
ESPN+
March 18
8:00 p.m.
No. 4 Utah Valley 78, George Washington 79
Scoring by half: 29–45, 49–34
Pts: 27 – Holcombe
Rebs: 7 – Davis
Asts: 7 – Holcombe		 Pts: 22 – Castro
Rebs: 11 – Castro
Asts: 6 – Jones
Albuquerque Region Quarterfinal
UCCU Center
Orem, Utah
Attendance: 1,582
Referees: Dean, Kidwai, St. Clair
ESPN+
March 18
8:00 p.m.
No. 4 Illinois State 79, Kent State 58
Scoring by half: 45–25, 34–33
Pts: 24 – Wolf
Rebs: 7 – Tied (2)
Asts: 7 – Kinziger		 Pts: 19 – Safford
Rebs: 15 – Gillespie
Asts: 4 – Medley
Winston-Salem Region Quarterfinal
CEFCU Arena
Normal, Illinois
Attendance: 2,565
Referees: Ford, Grimshaw, Hudson
ESPN+
March 18
9:00 p.m.
No. 1 New Mexico 107, Sam Houston 83
Scoring by half: 51–39, 56–44
Pts: 22 – Buljan
Rebs: 10 – Buljan
Asts: 6 – Tied (2)		 Pts: 22 – Beaumont
Rebs: 10 – Ilic
Asts: 6 – Walker
Albuquerque Region Quarterfinal
The Pit
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Attendance: 7,286
Referees: Hogan, Nunez, Schumer
ESPNU
March 18
9:00 p.m.
Bradley 66, No. 2 Dayton 80
Scoring by half: 30–47, 36–33
Pts: 19 – Huibregtse
Rebs: 8 – Smith
Asts: 4 – Wheeler		 Pts: 25 – Bennett
Rebs: 8 – L'Etang
Asts: 5 – Derkack
Winston-Salem Region Quarterfinal
Carver Arena
Peoria, Illinois
Attendance: 2,436
Referees: Albrecht, Duke, Rukasin
ESPN+
March 18
10:00 p.m.
No. 2 Nevada 89, Murray State 75
Scoring by half: 41–39, 48–36
Pts: 23 – Weems
Rebs: 13 – Price
Asts: 5 – Camper Jr.		 Pts: 17 – Domon
Rebs: 11 – King
Asts: 7 – Jackson
Auburn Region Quarterfinal
Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada
Attendance: 5,588
Referees: Caldwell, Gelinas, Kueneman
ESPN2
March 18
11:00 p.m.
No. 2 California 91, UIC 73
Scoring by half: 39–35, 52–38
Pts: 31 – Bell
Rebs: 7 – Ilic
Asts: 7 – Carr		 Pts: 15 – Washington Jr.
Rebs: 6 – Lowery
Asts: 12 – Crawford
Albuquerque Region Quarterfinal
Haas Pavilion
Berkeley, California
Attendance: 1,258
Referees: Ames, Fulton, Shamion
ESPNU
March 18
11:00 p.m.
No. 3 Colorado State 64, Saint Joseph's 69
Scoring by half: 28–33, 36–36
Pts: 14 – Muniz
Rebs: 9 – Jorgensen
Asts: 5 – Muniz		 Pts: 13 – Tied (3)
Rebs: 9 – Simpson
Asts: 3 – Tied (2)
Albuquerque Region Quarterfinal
Moby Arena
Fort Collins, Colorado
Attendance: 1,332
Referees: Corner, Floyd, Raher

Second round

March 21
7:00 p.m. EDT
UNC Wilmington 61, No. 2 Dayton 80
Scoring by half: 33–37, 28–43
Pts: 12 – Wessler
Rebs: 7 – Wessler
Asts: 2 – Tied (2)		 Pts: 20 – Montgomery
Rebs: 13 – Derkack
Asts: 4 – Bennett
Winston-Salem Region Semifinal
Trask Coliseum
Wilmington, North Carolina
Attendance: 5,038
Referees: Crisp, Heater, Sassano
ESPN+
March 21
9:00 p.m.
No. 2 Nevada 73, Liberty 63
Scoring by half: 35–31, 38–32
Pts: 15 – Price
Rebs: 13 – Camper Jr.
Asts: 10 – Camper Jr.		 Pts: 20 – Decker Jr.
Rebs: 7 – Cleveland
Asts: 6 – Cleveland
Auburn Region Semifinal
Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada
Attendance: 4,616
Referees: Nunez, Schumer, Siler
March 22
4:30 p.m.
No. 1 Wake Forest 75, No. 4 Illinois State 78
Scoring by half: 32–32, 43–46
Pts: 24 – Spillers
Rebs: 8 – Harris
Asts: 5 – Calmese		 Pts: 23 – Pence
Rebs: 9 – Skunberg
Asts: 5 – Kinziger
Winston-Salem Region Semifinal
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Attendance: 1,933
Referees: Eades, Pon, Shaw
ESPN2
March 22
6:30 p.m.
No. 1 Auburn 91, No. 4 Seattle 85
Scoring by half: 42–31, 49–54
Pts: 23 – Overton
Rebs: 15 – Hall
Asts: 5 – Hall		 Pts: 26 – Maldonado
Rebs: 6 – Yeo
Asts: 5 – Maldonado
Auburn Region Semifinal
Neville Arena
Auburn, Alabama
Attendance: 3,672
Referees: Brandes, Land, Lewis
March 22
7:00 p.m.
No. 1 Tulsa 77, UNLV 66
Scoring by half: 36–24, 41–42
Pts: 16 – Tied (2)
Rebs: 10 – Dean
Asts: 6 – Riley		 Pts: 29 – Gibbs-Lawhorn
Rebs: 8 – Jones
Asts: 7 – Jones
Tulsa Region Semifinal
Donald W. Reynolds Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Attendance: 2,432
Referees: McCoy, Page, Shannon
ESPN+
March 22
8:00 p.m.
No. 1 New Mexico 86, George Washington 61
Scoring by half: 36–32, 50–29
Pts: 19 – Hall
Rebs: 9 – Buljan
Asts: 6 – Tied (2)		 Pts: 16 – Jones
Rebs: 14 – Castro
Asts: 3 – Castro
Albuquerque Region Semifinal
The Pit
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Attendance: 9,207
Referees: Comer, Kueneman, Love
ESPN2
March 22
8:30 p.m.
No. 2 Oklahoma State 70, No. 3 Wichita State 96
Scoring by half: 37–44, 33–52
Pts: 22 – Coleman
Rebs: 10 – Coleman
Asts: 3 – Miller		 Pts: 28 – Giles
Rebs: 10 – Tied (2)
Asts: 4 – Kindell
Tulsa Region Semifinal
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Attendance: 2,526
Referees: Hirz, Larson, Thompson
ESPNU
March 22
9:00 p.m.
No. 2 California 75, Saint Joseph's 76
Scoring by half: 41–33, 34–43
Pts: 23 – Bell
Rebs: 8 – Dort
Asts: 6 – Pippen		 Pts: 24 – Glover-Toscano
Rebs: 11 – Haskins
Asts: 7 – Simpson
Albuquerque Region Semifinal
Haas Pavilion
Berkeley, California
Attendance: 1,657
Referees: Dean, Garretson, White

Quarterfinal round

March 24
7:00 p.m. EDT
No. 1 Tulsa 83, No. 3 Wichita State 79
Scoring by half: 52–36, 31–43
Pts: 24 – Barnstable
Rebs: 6 – Tied (2)
Asts: 6 – Riley		 Pts: 19 – Williams
Rebs: 8 – Tied (2)
Asts: 3 – Gray Jr.
Tulsa Region Final
Donald W. Reynolds Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Attendance: 3,198
Referees: Baker, Howard, Santos
ESPN2
March 24
9:00 p.m.
No. 1 New Mexico 84, Saint Joseph's 69
Scoring by half: 37–39, 47–30
Pts: 27 – Buljan
Rebs: 11 – Buljan
Asts: 5 – Haupt		 Pts: 26 – Simpson
Rebs: 8 – Myers
Asts: 5 – Tied (2)
Albuquerque Region Final
The Pit
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Attendance: 8,054
Referees: Harris, Littlewood, Rukasin
ESPN2
March 25
7:00 p.m.
No. 2 Dayton vs. No. 4 Illinois State
Winston-Salem Region Final
ESPN2
March 25
9:00 p.m.
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Nevada
Auburn Region Final

Semifinal round

April 2
7:00 p.m. EDT
No. 1 Tulsa vs. No. 1 New Mexico
Tulsa Region vs. Albuquerque Region
ESPN
April 2
9:30 p.m.

Final round

April 5
8:00 p.m. EDT
Championship

Media

ESPN, Inc. has exclusive rights to all of the NIT games. It telecasts every game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN+.[20] Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to both the semifinal and final rounds.

See also

References

  1. ^ "NIT" (PDF). NCAA.com. TNT Sports. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  2. ^ Anders, Andy (March 17, 2025). "Ohio State Declines Invitation to Fox's College Basketball Crown Tournament after Missing Third Straight NCAA Tournament". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  3. ^ "Ranking of Conferences by NetRtg of Team Expected to Go .500 in Conference Play". 2026 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. The Forecast Factory LLC. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "2026 T-Rank and Tempo-Free Stats". Bart Torvik. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Men's College Basketball Power Index 2025–26". ESPN. March 15, 2026. Archived from the original on March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "2026 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings". The Forecast Factory LLC. March 15, 2026. Archived from the original on March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "KPI Rankings NCAA D-I Men's Basketball 2025–2026". Faktor Sports. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "2025–26 D-I Men's Basketball NET Ranking thru games 03/14/2026". NCAA Statistics. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Men's College Basketball Power Index 2025–26". ESPN. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  10. ^ "NIT Announces New Team Selection Protocol and New Committee Members". NCAA. October 22, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  11. ^ "South Alabama named first team in 88th National Invitation Tournament". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  12. ^ "Where does Cincinnati Bearcats basketball stand for selection Sunday?". March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  13. ^ a b c "Who has declined NIT bid? Full list of teams to opt out of tournament". usatoday.com. USA Today. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ^ "Seton Hall Athletics Statement on 2025-26 Men's Basketball Postseason". shupirates.com. Seton Hall Pirates. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  15. ^ "WVU Basketball to Accept Bid to College Basketball Crown". WVU Sports Now. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  16. ^ "Official Statement from Belmont Athletics". Belmont Bruins. SIDEARM Sports. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  17. ^ "Florida State Declines To Participate In The NIT After 18 Wins in Luke Loucks' Debut Season". seminoles.com. Florida State Seminoles. March 15, 2026.
  18. ^ Caudell, Jackson (March 13, 2026). "Virginia Tech Announces They Will Not Participate In This Year's NIT Tournament". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  19. ^ "2026 Boys Basketball State Tournament Coverage". Ohio High School Athletic Association. March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  20. ^ "Broadcast Info". NCAA. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
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