The National Invitation Tournament is back with another thrilling basketball action-packed single-elimination tournament. The teams who narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament will have an opportunity to prove themselves in the NIT. The schedule for the tournament featuring 32 teams is already out. If you are someone who wants to know when and where to watch the basketball event, this article is for you. It brings you everything you need to know about the NIT Tournament 2025 schedule. The following article also includes the streaming options for the tournament.
When To Watch NIT Tournament 2025?
The National Invitation Tournament is all set to commence on the 18th of March and will continue till the 3rd of April 2025. The championship game will air on the 3rd of April which will decide which team will take the trophy home. The selection show for the tournament is scheduled for the 16th of March 2025. The oldest college basketball postseason competition will be held in the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this year. The selection will have its broadcast at 9:00 PM ET.
Where To Watch NIT Tournament 2025?
ESPN2, one of the most widely available television channels, will broadcast the tournament for the audience to enjoy. You can easily find it on basic cable packages like Dish Network and DirecTV. The first round of the games will have its broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2. ESPNU is an upgraded or mid-tier cable package, unlike ESPN2. The second round will also be broadcast on both channels while the quarterfinals are exclusive to ESPN2. The final championship game will air on ESPN on the 3rd of April 2025. You can also stream the tournament on ESPN+ and Fubo.
NIT Tournament 2025 Schedule: Bracket Selection Format
The selection committee for the National Invitation Tournament has officially revamped the criteria for automatic bids. This year the tournament will feature a total of 16 exempt teams including the top two from ACC and SEC who missed out a spot in the NCAA tournament. It will also include the team with the highest rank in the 12 conferences who failed to secure an invitation.
The top 12 conferences are based on Ken Pom’s ratings. On the other hand, the best team is determined based on NET, KenPom, BPI, KPI, SOR, and WAB. Regular-season conference champions who failed to secure a spot in the NCAA can also get an automatic spot given that their average ranking across the listed metrics is 125 or more.
NIT Tournament 2025 Schedule: Matches And Dates
The selection show will commence on the 16th of March 2025 at 9:00 PM ET. The following are the match schedules for the first round scheduled from the 18th of March 2025.
- No. 3 St. Bonaventure vs. Kent St.
- No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. Jacksonville St.
- No. 4 Middle Tenn. vs. Chattanooga.
- No. 3 Arkansas St. vs. Saint Louis.
- No. 4 Oklahoma St. vs. Wichita St.
- No. 2 Santa Clara vs. UC Riverside.
- No. 2 Stanford vs. CSUN.
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The following are the match schedules for the first round scheduled from the 19th of March 2025.
- No. 1 Dayton vs. Fla. Atlantic.
- No. 2 George Mason vs. Samford.
- No. 3 Saint Joseph’s vs. UAB.
- No. 2 North Texas vs. Furman.
- No. 3 Bradley vs. North Ala.
- No. 1 SMU vs. UNI.
- No. 1 UC Irvine vs. Northern Colorado.
- No. 1 San Francisco vs. Utah Valley.
- No. 4 San Jose State vs. Loyola Chicago.
The second round of games for the tournament is scheduled for the 22nd and 23rd of March 2025. Following the second round, the quarterfinals are scheduled on the 25th and 26th of March 2025. The 2025 NIT semifinals are scheduled on the 1st of April 2025 while the championship game is scheduled on the 3rd of April 2025.
