NIT 2026 Complete Bracket, First-Round Schedule and Men's Teams to Watch
The NIT has turned into a successful tournament for mid-major programs over the last five years.
Chattanooga, North Texas and Memphis won three of the last five NITs. The other two went to Big East programs.
A majority of the 32-team NIT field in 2026 comes from the mid-major ranks, but there is one power-conference team capable of winning it all.
The Auburn Tigers lived on the NCAA tournament bubble for the last month, but instead of competing in the field of 68, they should be viewed as the favorite to win the NIT.
The full bracket and first-round schedule can be found below:
Auburn
1 of 4
Auburn is the best team in the NIT field.
The Tigers are the highest-ranked team on KenPom (No. 38) to be excluded from the NCAA men's basketball tournament field.
Steven Pearl's team owns wins over St. John's, Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky. That was one of the talking points as to why the Tigers should've been in the field of 68.
Auburn only won three games after January 31, though, and that was one of the driving forces that kept it out of the Big Dance.
If Auburn takes the NIT seriously, it can run through the field and earn a postseason title.
The Tigers will play at home in the first three rounds. They don't have any other power-conference team in the Auburn regional.
Everything is aligned for Auburn to win the NIT, but to do that, it has to put together a winning streak, which it hasn't had since late January.
Colorado State
2 of 4
Colorado State comes into the NIT with a 9-2 record in its last 11 games.
The Rams are the No. 3 seed in the Albuquerque region, so they will have to go on the road twice in chalk holds.
But in terms of current form, Colorado State is in far better shape than New Mexico and California, the top two seeds in its portion of the bracket.
Colorado State won five games away from Fort Collins during its recent run of form, including a triumph over New Mexico on March 4 in Mountain West play.
New Mexico lost four of its last six and California went 4-5 in its last nine, so with both of them in not-so-great form, why not run with Colorado State to earn a spot in the NIT Final Four.
Yale
3 of 4
It's hard to pick out just one team to watch in the Winston-Salem region.
The eight-team region is loaded with mid-major powers that lost in their conference tournaments, as well as Wake Forest and Dayton.
Yale stands out as the No. 3 seed in the Winston-Salem region because of its offensive efficiency.
The Bulldogs rank in the top 35 in a handful of offensive categories on KenPom and they've scored at least 74 points in eight of their last 10 games.
A highly-effective offense will take you a long way in March, which is why Yale is so dangerous to win five games in a row to land the NIT crown.
Tulsa
4 of 4
Tulsa had three winning runs of six games or more during the regular season.
The Golden Hurricane are more than capable of going on a five-game winning run to claim the NIT title.
Tulsa ranks fourth in three-point offense, 14th in free-throw shooting and 17th in effective field-goal percentage on KenPom.
Like Yale, Tulsa can ride an incredibly efficient offense into the NIT Final Four in Indianapolis.
Tulsa also has the advantage of playing its first three games at home, where it only lost two games this season.
