INDIANAPOLIS — Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Clemson, Oregon highlight the 32-team National Invitation Tournament field released by the NIT committee for the 2023 tournament.
First round play is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14 and 15, with the second round playing March 18-19. Quarterfinals will be held on March 21 and 22 with four teams advancing to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Tuesday, March 28. The NIT will conclude with the championship game on Thursday, March 30.
First round action on campus sites features number one seeds, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Clemson and Oregon facing Youngstown State, Hofstra, Morehead State and UC Irvine respectively.
Other first round games include Eastern Washington at Washington State, Alcorn at North Texas, Sam Houston at Santa Clara, UCF at Florida, Bradley at Wisconsin, Villanova at Liberty, Virginia Tech at Cincinnati, Utah Valley at New Mexico, Seton Hall at Colorado, Southern Miss at UAB, Yale at Vanderbilt, Toledo at Michigan.
For the second-straight season, the NIT seeded only the top half of the 32-team field. The bottom 16 unseeded teams were placed into the bracket by the NIT Committee as close to their area of natural interest as possible.
Bradley is making its 22nd appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, the most of any school in the 2023 field.
“We’re excited about the field that we were able to put together,” said Wren Baker, vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics at West Virginia and chair of the NIT committee. “There are going to be some great early round matchups and I think our semifinal teams are going to have a great experience in Las Vegas.”
The 2023 semifinals and championship move to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for one year after a storied 83-year history at Madison Square Garden in New York.
NIT games are being televised by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. Additional NIT information can be found on www.NCAA.com/NIT.