NIT 2025: Complete Bracket, First-Round Schedule and Men's Teams to Watch
Selection Sunday was, as always, busy for the college basketball world on all fronts.
That's because there are much more decisions to be made beyond handing out NCAA Tournament invites. Multiple other postseason tournaments must be filled, too, none more storied than the NIT.
This year's NIT bracket features a little of everything, from power-conference representatives to mid-major juggernauts. The action could be every bit as thrilling as the Big Dance, so let's dive right in with a look at the full bracket, the opening-round schedule and a couple teams who could capture the crown.
2025 NIT Bracket
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SMU, Dayton, UC Irvine and San Francisco snagged the top seeds, but here's a look at where all 32 participants landed.
NIT First-Round Schedule
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Tuesday, March 18
No. 3 St. Bonaventure vs. Kent State, 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. Jacksonville State, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 4 Middle Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+
No. 3 Arkansas State vs. Saint Louis, 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 2 Santa Clara vs. UC Riverside, 11 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 2 Stanford vs. CSUN, 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Wednesday, March 19
No. 1 Dayton vs. Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 2 George Mason vs. Samford, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
No. 3 Saint Joseph's vs. UAB, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
No. 2 North Texas vs. Furman, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+
No. 3 Bradley vs. North Alabama, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+
NO. 1 SMU vs. UNI, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 1 UC Irvine vs. Northern Colorado, 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+
No. 1 San Francisco vs. Utah Valley, 11 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 4 San Jose State vs. Loyola Chicago, 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Teams to Watch
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SMU Mustangs (23-10)
The Mustangs are the lone NIT participant with a top-50 ranking on KenPom (47th). They are one of the better balanced teams in the tournament, too, enjoying top-70 marks on both offense (40th) and defense (64th).
Five different players averaged double figures for this team. Four are upperclassmen, with the lone exception being 7'2" freshman center Samet Yiğitoğlu. Three of the other double-digit scorers shot better than 38 percent from three.
San Francisco Dons (24-9)
The Dons went a competitive 13-5 in the WCC and were the only team to give Saint Mary's a conference loss during the regular season. That was pretty much it for notable wins, but they were four points away from upsetting Memphis back in November.
They aren't the most consistent club you'll find, but they can beat anyone when senior guards Malik Thomas and Marcus Williams get rolling. Thomas popped for over 30 points three different times, while Williams netted 21-plus in three of his last four outings.
George Mason Patriots (26-8)
The Patriots did a lot of winning this season, but their schedule perhaps wasn't strong enough to sway the NCAA Tournament's selection committee. They only had eight games combined against Quad 1 and 2 competition.
Their offense is more miss than hit—only three players cleared eight points a night—but their defense is tenacious. KenPom slotted that unit 22nd in the country, which ranks second-best in this tournament behind only UC Irvine.
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