NIT 2017: Tournament Dates, Seed Format and Bracket Release Info

The men's National Invitational Tournament will begin on Tuesday with first-round games at campus sites and end on March 30 with the final at Madison Square Garden.

Here's a look at the bracket release information, the schedule, the seeding format, the selection process and three teams to watch for in the NIT.

Bracket Release Information

The men's NIT bracket will be released on Sunday from 8:30-9 p.m. ET during the NIT Selection Special on ESPNU.

Men's NIT Schedule

Rounds	Dates	Cities	Locations
First	Tuesday, March 14, and Wednesday, March 15	Campus Sites	TBD
Second	Thursday, March 16, through Monday, March 20	Campus Sites	TBD
Quarterfinals	Tuesday, March 21, and Wednesday, March 22	Campus Sites	TBD
Semifinals	Tuesday, March 28	New York City	Madison Square Garden
Championship	Thursday, March 30	New York City	Madison Square Garden

Information via ncaa.com.

Seeding Format and Selection Process

The 32-team bracket is split into four groups of eight, with each team seeded No. 1 through No. 8.

Teams that win their conference's regular-season title but fail to win their conference tournament receive an automatic bid to the NIT if they fail to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

When those spots are filled, the selection committee will decide the rest of the 32-team field based on the processes outlined here.

Teams to Watch

NYC Buckets dropped an NIT bracket projection on Tuesday, and here are three teams from that projection to watch for should they participate in the NIT.

1. Central Florida

Sophomore UCF center Tacko Fall is one of the most fun players to watch in the nation, simply because it's entertaining to see him use his 7'6" frame to stuff an opponent's attempt at the rim.

Fall averages 2.6 blocks per game to go along with 11.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. He leads an elite Golden Knights defense that only allows 60.5 points per game (fifth in the NCAA) and a 36.1 percent field-goal percentage (first in the NCAA).

UCF has won five straight (including a win over No. 15 Cincinnati) to end the regular season with a 20-10 record (and 11-7 in the AAC). However, the Golden Knights' only path to an NCAA tournament bid is through an automatic berth by virtue of winning the American Athletic Conference tournament. If they can't win it, then the NIT will very likely come calling.

2. Indiana

No one expected the Hoosiers to be in the NIT conversation after beating North Carolina and Kansas, two likely No. 1 seeds, at the beginning of the season, even though IU also lost a game to Fort Wayne.

However, the NIT is where IU will likely end up after going 17-14 and finishing 10th in the Big Ten with a 7-11 conference record.

Still, IU will be an interesting team to watch because of the future NBA talent on its roster. Per the latest DraftExpress NBA mock draft, sophomore forward OG Anunoby is projected to go 18th, while sophomore center Thomas Bryant is slotted at No. 34.

No other team in NYC Buckets' latest NIT picks has two players projected in this year's NBA draft, so IU will be interesting to watch.

3. BYU

If you like seeing teams run up and down the court, look no further than the BYU Cougars in the NIT. BYU ran at the fourth-fastest tempo in the country this season, per the Ken Pomeroy college basketball rankings. The Cougars were also the only team to defeat Gonzaga this season, ending the Bulldogs' 29-game win streak.

BYU has two players who love to shoot from deep (freshman guard TJ Haws and sophomore guard Nick Emery) and a tough big man in sophomore Eric Mika, who averages 20.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Another reason to watch BYU: The Cougars are only going to get better over the next few years, as those three aforementioned players (and the three leading scorers on the team) are all underclassmen, so we could be seeing BYU before it really starts hitting its stride and competing with the best teams in the nation.