Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Here’s the full bracket, schedule and scores for this year’s tournament.
It’s NIT TIME BABY! (extremely Dick Vitale voice). The National Invitational Tournament is upon us, and while many teams will be disappointed they’re in competition to become the best bridesmaid of March, rather than the bride, there’s still a lot of pride to play for.
Each year the NIT features one major snub who becomes the favorite to run the table. This year it’s Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had every ounce of justification to be in the NCAA tournament, but were pushed just outside the bubble.
That doesn’t mean a Rutgers win should be considered a foregone conclusion. Yes, they’re a very good team — but last year Texas A&M was the huge NCAA snub and ended up losing to Xavier 73-72 in the NIT final.
The big edge the NIT has always held over the NCAA tournament is atmosphere. Sure, playing at big independent sites brings money and parity to the sport, but there’s something to be said for keeping the on-campus atmosphere like the NIT does. It’s for this reason that the seeded teams get to play at home to open the tournament, with the campus sites hosting until the quarterfinals are complete. Curiously you’ll see that this omits Oklahoma State, who have to travel despite being a No. 1 seed because of a prior commitment on campus to host the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
The 2023 NIT Schedule
First Round
Tuesday, March 14
No. 1 Rutgers vs. Hofstra | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 3 Michigan vs. Toledo | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 4 UAB vs. Southern Miss | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 3 Liberty vs. Villanova | 9 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. Yale | 9 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. Bradley | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN
No. 4 Washington State vs. Eastern Washington | 11 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 3 Colorado vs. Seton Hall | 11 p.m. | ESPN2
Wednesday, March 15
No. 1 Oklahoma State at Youngstown State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 4 Florida vs. UCF | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 1 Clemson vs. Morehead State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 2 North Texas vs. Alcorn | 8 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 3 Sam Houston at Santa Clara | 9 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 4 Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech | 9 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 2 New Mexico vs. Utah Valley | 10 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 1 Oregon vs. UC Irvine | 11 p.m. | ESPN2
Second Round
Saturday, March 18
Sunday, March 19
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, March 21
Wednesday, March 22
Semifinals
Tuesday, March 28
Finals
Thursday, March 30
