NIT 2023: Bracket, schedule, and scores

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 was Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had every ounce of justification to be in the NCAA tournament, but were pushed just outside the bubble. That ended up being some fool’s gold, as Rutgers were eliminated in the opening round by Hofstra.

They weren’t the only No. 1 seed to get bounced early either, with Clemson stunningly losing to Morehead State in the first round as well. Now, with eight teams left there’s a real sense that the NIT Championship is up for grabs. Two No. 1 seeds remain, three No. 2s, two No. 4s and unseeded Utah Valley, who are on a bit of a Cinderella run themselves after beating No. 2 New Mexico and then No. 3 Colorado.

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.

The 2023 NIT Schedule

First Round

Tuesday, March 14

• Hofstra 88, No. 1 Rutgers 86 OT
• No. 3 Michigan 90, Toledo 80
• No. 4 UAB 88, Southern Miss 60
• No. 3 Liberty 62, Villanova 57
• No. 2 Vanderbilt 71, Yale 62
• No. 2 Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62
• Eastern Washington 81, No. 4 Washington State 74
• No. 3 Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64

Wednesday, March 15

• No. 1 Oklahoma State 69, Youngstown State 64
• UCF 67, No. 4 Florida 49
• Morehead State 68, No. 1 Clemson 64
• No. 2 North Texas 69, Alcorn 53
• No. 3 Sam Houston 58, Santa Clara 56
• No. 4 Cincinnati 81, Virginia Tech 72
• Utah Valley 83, No. 2 New Mexico 69
• No. 1 Oregon 84, UC Irvine 58

Second Round

Saturday, March 18

• No. 2 Vanderbilt 66, No. 3 Michigan 65
• No. 4 Cincinnati 79, Hofstra 65

Sunday, March 19

• No. 2 Wisconsin 75, No. 3 Liberty 75
• No. 1 Oklahoma State 71, Eastern Washington 60
• No. 4 UAB 77, Morehead State 59
• No. 2 North Texas 75, No. 3 Sam Houston 55
• No. 1 Oregon 68, UCF 54
• Utah Valley 81, No. 3 Colorado 69

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 21

• No. 2 North Texas 65, No. 1 Oklahoma State 59, OT
• No. 2 Wisconsin 61, No. 1 Oregon 58

Wednesday, March 22

• No. 4 UAB 77, No. 2 Vanderbilt 59
• Utah Valley 74, No. 4 Cincinnati 68

Semifinals

Tuesday, March 28

No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 North Texas | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN

Utah Valley vs. No. 4 UAB | 9:40 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Finals

Thursday, March 30