NIT 2023: Updated Format, Latest Bracketology Predictions for Men's Tourney

Spots in the NCAA men's basketball tournament are limited. There will be 68 schools headed to March Madness, which always leaves some solid teams on the wrong side of the bubble following the selection committee's decisions.

The season doesn't necessarily end at that point for those programs, though. Some will head to the National Invitation Tournament, which annually features 16 of the best teams to miss out on the NCAA tourney.

Regular-season conference champions that don't make it into the NCAA tournament get automatic bids to the NIT. For this year's event (which begins March 14), that list already includes Eastern Washington (Big Sky), Hofstra (CAA), Youngstown State (Horizon), Bradley (Missouri Valley) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley).

Here's everything else you need to know about the 2023 NIT.

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2023 NIT Schedule

First-round games at campus sites, March 14-15

Second-round games at campus sites, March 18-19

Quarterfinal games at campus sites, March 21-22

Semifinals at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, March 28

Championship game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, March 30

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Latest Bracketology Predictions

A lot of bracketology updates will be coming throughout the weekend now that the top conference tournaments are taking place. If a surprise team goes on a run and wins a conference tourney title (which comes with an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney), teams currently projected to reach March Madness could be pushed out.

Some bubble teams don't even need to do that. A win or two in a conference tournament could be enough to improve their resume and impress the selection committee.

Rutgers is a team that can't go one-and-done in the Big Ten tournament if it hopes to reach the NCAA tournament and avoid the NIT. The Scarlet Knights are set to play Michigan in the second round of their conference tourney on Thursday.

On Feb. 4, Rutgers was in a much better position, as it was 16-7 at the time. Now, it is 18-13 after losing six of its final eight regular-season games.

Another bubble team that got off to a hot start this season is Providence, which was 14-3 on Jan. 7. The Friars are now 21-10, and they ended the regular season with three losses in four games.

Providence can still push its way into the NCAA tournament, but it may not be able to lose to UConn in the quarterfinals of the Big East tourney on Thursday.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pittsburgh likely improved its chances of getting into the NCAA tournament when it defeated Georgia Tech in the second round of the ACC tourney on Wednesday. The Panthers had previously looked like a team that could be one of the top seeds in the NIT.

However, Pittsburgh is unlikely to make it any further in the ACC tournament, with a quarterfinal matchup vs. Duke set for Thursday. Can the Panthers lose that game and still get into March Madness? That will depend on what else happens around the country. If not, they could be a top NIT team.

Maybe all of these teams will end up in the NIT. Maybe none of them will. The next few days, though, will go a long way in determining that for these schools and the rest of the teams on the March Madness bubble.