ESPN will once again be the exclusive home of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), with the first round (March 17-20), quarterfinals (March 25), semifinals (March 27) and championship (March 28) set to air on ESPN or ESPN2. First round games and quarterfinals will originate from Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, and UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas, with the remainder of the tournament taking place at Comerica Center.
NIT action begins Wednesday, March 17, with a doubleheader on ESPN2 as No. 2-seed Richmond faces No. 3 Toledo at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 3 Western Kentucky, led by potential first round NBA Draft pick Charles Bassey, playing No. 2 Saint Mary’s. Penny Hardaway and No. 1 Memphis will face No. 4 Dayton on Saturday, March 20 at noon. A full schedule of first round matchups is available below.
The semifinals will be held Saturday, March 27, at noon and 3 p.m., on ESPN, followed by the championship on Sunday, March 28, at noon on ESPN. This year, a third place game has been added, and will also be played on Sunday, March 28 at 3 p.m. on ESPN. The commentator crew of John Schriffen and Fran Fraschilla will call a number of early round games, before calling the semifinals, championship and third place game.
All games will also be available via the ESPN App.
The complete 16-team field was announced on ESPNU’s NIT Selection Special on Sunday, March 14. The full bracket is available here.
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Wed, Mar 17 | 7 p.m. | Toledo vs. Richmond Dave Feldman, King McClure |
ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | Western Kentucky vs. Saint Mary’s (Calif.) Doug Sherman, Chris Spatola |
ESPN2 | |
| Thu, Mar 18 | 7 p.m. | NC State vs. Davidson Derek Jones, Cory Alexander |
ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | SMU vs. Boise State John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN | |
| Fri, Mar 19 | 7 p.m. | Buffalo vs. Colorado State Dave Feldman, Brooke Weisbrod |
ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | Louisiana Tech vs. Ole Miss Wes Durham, Chris Spatola |
ESPN2 | |
| Sat, Mar 20 | Noon | Dayton vs. Memphis Derek Jones, Cory Alexander |
ESPN |
| 5 p.m. | Mississippi State vs. Saint Louis John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN | |
| Thu, Mar 25 | 6 p.m. | Quarterfinal #1 Derek Jones, Cory Alexander |
ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | Quarterfinal #2 John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN | |
| 9 p.m. | Quarterfinal #3 Derek Jones, Cory Alexander |
ESPN | |
| 10 p.m. | Quarterfinal #4 John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN2 | |
| Sat, Mar 27 | Noon | Semifinal #1 John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN |
| 3 p.m. | Semifinal #2 John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN | |
| Sun, Mar 28 | Noon | Championship John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN |
| 3 p.m. | Third Place Game John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN |
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