2023 National Invitation Tournament

The 2023 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams not selected to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament. The tournament began on March 14 and ended on March 30. The first three rounds were played on campuses, with the semifinal and championship final played at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Valley.[1]

2023 National Invitation Tournament
Season2022–23
Teams32
Finals siteOrleans Arena
Paradise, Nevada
ChampionsNorth Texas Mean Green (1st title)
Runner-upUAB Blazers (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachGrant McCasland (1st title)
MVPTylor Perry (North Texas)
National Invitation Tournaments
«2022 2024»

Participants edit

Teams and parings for the 2023 NIT were released by the NIT Committee on Sunday, March 12. Thirty-two teams qualified for the NIT, both automatic qualifiers and at-large selections. In 2022, the Xavier Musketeers won the NIT Title.

Automatic qualifiers edit

Teams which had the best regular-season record in their conference but failed to win their conference tournament automatically qualified for the 2023 NIT if they were not selected for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.[1]

Team Conference Overall record Appearance Last bid
Eastern Washington Big Sky 22–10 2nd 2003
UC Irvine Big West 23–11 7th 2017
Hofstra CAA 24–9 7th 2019
Youngstown State Horizon 24–9 1st Never
Yale Ivy League 21–8 2nd 2002
Toledo MAC 27–7 10th 2022
Bradley MVC 25–9 22nd 2007
Morehead State OVC 21–11 1st Never
Southern Miss Sun Belt 25–7 11th 2014
Alcorn State SWAC 18–13 4th 2022
Utah Valley WAC 25–8 2nd 2014

At-large bids edit

The following teams were awarded at-large bids.

Team Conference Overall record Appearance Last bid
Cincinnati American 21–12 11th 2010
Clemson ACC 23–10 18th 2019
Colorado Pac-12 17–16 13th 2022
Florida SEC 16–16 11th 2022
Liberty ASUN 26–8 1st Never
Michigan Big Ten 17–15 10th 2007
New Mexico Mountain West 22–11 20th 2011
North Texas Conference USA 26–7 2nd 2022
Oklahoma State Big 12 18–15 13th 2018
Oregon Pac-12 19–14 13th 2022
Rutgers Big Ten 19–14 15th 2006
Sam Houston WAC 25–7 2nd 2019
Santa Clara West Coast 23–9 7th 2022
Seton Hall Big East 17–15 18th 2012
UAB Conference USA 25–9 13th 2016
UCF American 18–14 3rd 2017
Vanderbilt SEC 20–14 14th 2022
Villanova Big East 17–16 18th 2004
Virginia Tech ACC 19–14 14th 2016
Washington State Pac-12 17–16 7th 2022
Wisconsin Big Ten 17–14 5th 1996

Declined invitations edit

The following programs declined to participate in the 2023 NIT:

Bracket edit

The 32-team bracket was announced on March 12, via the NIT Selection Show on ESPNU at 10 p.m. EST.[4]

First round
March 14–15
Campus sites
Second round
March 18–19
Campus sites
Quarterfinal
March 21
Gallagher-Iba Arena
         
1 Oklahoma State^ 69
Youngstown State 64
1 Oklahoma State 71
Eastern Washington 60
4 Washington State 74
Eastern Washington 81
1 Oklahoma State 59
2 North Texas 65OT
2 North Texas 69
Alcorn State 53
2 North Texas 75
3 Sam Houston 55
3 Sam Houston^^ 58
Santa Clara 56
^ Oklahoma State played its first-round game at Youngstown State due to a scheduling conflict at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
^^ Sam Houston State played its first-round game at Santa Clara due to a scheduling conflict at Bernard Johnson Coliseum.
First round
March 14–15
Campus sites
Second round
March 18–19
Campus sites
Quarterfinal
March 21
Matthew Knight Arena
         
1 Oregon 84
UC Irvine 58
1 Oregon 68
UCF 54
4 Florida 49
UCF 67
1 Oregon 58
2 Wisconsin 61
2 Wisconsin 81
Bradley 62
2 Wisconsin 75
3 Liberty 71
3 Liberty 62
Villanova 57
First round
March 14–15
Campus sites
Second round
March 18–19
Campus sites
Quarterfinal
March 22
UCCU Center
         
1 Rutgers 86
Hofstra 88OT
Hofstra 65
4 Cincinnati^ 79
4 Cincinnati 81
Virginia Tech 72
4 Cincinnati^^ 68
Utah Valley 74
2 New Mexico 69
Utah Valley 83
Utah Valley 81
3 Colorado 69
3 Colorado 65
Seton Hall 64
^ Cincinnati played its second-round game at Hofstra due to their home court at Fifth Third Arena being renovated.
^^ Cincinnati played its third-round game at Utah Valley due to their home court at Fifth Third Arena being renovated.
First round
March 14–15
Campus sites
Second round
March 18–19
Campus sites
Quarterfinal
March 22
Memorial Gymnasium
         
1 Clemson 64
Morehead State 68
Morehead State 59
4 UAB 77
4 UAB 88
Southern Miss 60
4 UAB 67
2 Vanderbilt 59
2 Vanderbilt 71
Yale 62
2 Vanderbilt 66
3 Michigan 65
3 Michigan 90
Toledo 80
Semifinals
March 28
Orleans Arena
Final
March 30
Orleans Arena
      
2 North Texas 56
2 Wisconsin 54
2 North Texas 68
4 UAB 61
Utah Valley 86
4 UAB 88OT

Media edit

ESPN, Inc. had exclusive television rights to all of the NIT games. It telecast every game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, and ESPN+. Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and the championship.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "2023 NIT bracket" (PDF). NCAA.com. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Baxley, Rodd (March 12, 2023). "Why Hubert Davis said UNC basketball will not play in NIT after missing NCAA Tournament". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Jablonski, David (March 12, 2023). "Dayton's season ends as it announces it 'will decline any postseason opportunities'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 NIT men's basketball field and pairings announced". NCAA.com. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.