NIT 2016: Known Tournament Info, Format and Championship Dates

March Madness is right around the corner, and the thrilling festivities won't be limited to the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Just hours after the 68-team bracket is revealed for the month's biggest college basketball showcase, the National Invitation Tournament will break out its bracket with a half-hour selection special on ESPNU featuring several of the biggest snubs from the NCAA tournament.

And with so many compelling teams on the bubble as the weekend approaches, there's a chance the NIT could receive a real injection of excitement.

But before breaking down which squads could make for the most interesting NIT we've seen in years, here's a rundown of everything we know about the tournament's logistics.

Tournament Information

The NIT underwent some radical changes in 2006, and they're still intact with the 2016 edition on the way.

As the New York Times reported when the changes were implemented, the NIT has a few defining characteristics that differentiate it from its bigger tournament brother:

• All games prior to the semifinals are played on the floor of the higher-seeded team.
• Regular-season conference champions not selected for the NCAA tournament receive automatic bids.
• Teams with records below .500 are eligible for selection.

With those ground rules established, here's a look at the NIT's preliminary schedule, courtesy of NCAA.com:

Tournament Segment	Date	Location
Round 1, Round 2, Quarterfinals	March 15-23	Campus of Higher Seed
Semifinals	March 29	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Final	March 31	Madison Square Garden, New York City

Teams to Watch

James Crisp/Associated Press

If there's one school to be on the lookout for when it comes to NIT scouting, it's LSU. While the Tigers struggled all season long and failed to live up to expectations, they still wield consensus No. 1 NBA draft prospect Ben Simmons.

And while it would be great fun to watch Simmons try to lead LSU to an upset or two on a bigger stage with a surprising NCAA tournament appearance, a deep run in the NIT would likely give fans a few more games to try to catch the freshman phenom before he bolts for the NBA.

Entering the start of SEC tournament play, Simmons was averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. To contextualize how ridiculous that line is, consider that no player in Sports-Reference.com's database (which dates back to 1994) has ever averaged at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, five dimes and two steals for a season.

"His playmaking ability is similar to Magic Johnson's," an NBA scout told Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman. "He's a franchise guy; he's going to be special."

Another squad to watch is Syracuse.

The Orange are firmly on the bubble after bowing out of the ACC tournament with a 72-71 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers on Wednesday, which caused ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi to move head coach Jim Boeheim's team into the "First Four Out" section of his bracket projections.

But even if Syracuse doesn't qualify for the Big Dance, it has a resume that suggests a deep run in the NIT could be possible.

Although Syracuse closed out the regular season by losing five of its last six games, wins over ranked squads such as Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Duke pointed to the Orange's upside.

They may rank a pedestrian 76th in KenPom.com's adjusted offensive efficiency and 37th in the corresponding defensive metric, but there's reason to believe the Orange could make a run that ends in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd full of Syracuse faithful.