NIT 2016: Bracket, Times, Dates, Live Streaming and TV Schedule

The NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket is set, which means many teams that didn't make it into the field of 68 will get a chance to play in the National Invitation Tournament.

One team that will not participate in the NIT—or any postseason tournament, for that matter, is the LSU Tigers. On Sunday, the school announced that its season is over, which more than likely means freshman Ben Simmons played in his final college game Saturday, as DraftExpress projects that he'll be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Plenty of mid-majors that had resumes worthy of the NCAA tournament will get a chance to showcase their talents on the national stage, and it could set up to be one of the best NITs in recent memory.

Sports Illustrated provided the bracket:

Tuesday, March 15	Time	Channel
No. 8 High Point vs. No. 1 South Carolina	7 p.m. ET	ESPNU
No. 6 Akron vs. No. 3 Ohio State	7 p.m. ET	ESPN
No. 5 Davidson vs. No. 4 Florida State	7 p.m. ET	ESPN2
No. 6 Long Beach State vs. No. 3 Washington	9 p.m. ET	ESPN2
No. 7 North Florida vs. No. 2 Florida	9 p.m. ET	ESPNU
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 Creighton	9 p.m. ET	ESPN
No. 8 Texas Southern vs. No. 1 Valparaiso	9:15 p.m. ET	ESPN3
No. 7 IPFW vs. No. 2 San Diego State	10 p.m. ET	ESPN3
No. 7 New Mexico State vs. No. 2 Saint Mary's	11 p.m. ET	ESPN2
Wednesday, March 16	Time	Channel
No. 8 Wagner vs. No. 1 St. Bonaventure	7 p.m. ET	ESPN3
No. 6 Belmont vs. No. 3 Georgia	7 p.m. ET	ESPN2
No. 8 Bucknell vs. No. 1 Monmouth	7:30 p.m. ET	ESPN3
No. 6 Princeton vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech	8 p.m. ET	ESPNU
No. 5 Hofstra vs. No. 4 George Washington	8 p.m. ET	ESPN3
No. 5 Houston vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech	9 p.m. ET	ESPN2
No. 7 UAB vs. No. 2 BYU	10 p.m. ET	ESPNU

Top NIT Contenders

Monmouth Hawks

The 27-7 Monmouth Hawks had an outstanding regular-season record but didn't have a good strength of schedule, and the selection committee robbed fans of the chance to watch Monmouth's bench during the NCAA tournament.

But the Hawks received a consolation prize, a No. 1 seed in the NIT, and they'll play the Bucknell Bison on Wednesday.

Monmouth may be the most debated team left out of the NCAA tournament. Two of the Hawks' best wins this year were against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and USC Trojans, both tournament teams. They lost by three points to the Dayton Flyers and had the 52nd-best RPI in the country, per CBS Sports.

But NCAA selection committee chairman Joe Castiglione thought Monmouth's losses to teams ranked No. 200 or worse in the RPI were the deciding factor, per Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports:

On top of the fun bench antics, Monmouth is a good team. Junior guard Justin Robinson is averaging almost 19.5 points per game, and 6'6" senior guard Deon Jones is averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per contest.

According to ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil, Monmouth was the biggest snub this year:

The Hawks averaged 79.4 points per game, good for 28th in the nation, and are going to cause plenty of problems for opponents in the NIT.

Saint Mary's Gaels

Despite a 27-5 record, a top-40 ranking in the RPI and a West Coast Conference regular-season championship, the Gaels also landed in the NIT.

Saint Mary's received a No. 2 seed and will face the New Mexico State Aggies in the first round.

Strength of schedule, however, cost the Gaels a chance to play in the field of 68. Saint Mary's had the 148th-strongest schedule in the nation, according to CBS Sports, and went 9-1 in nonconference action. While the Gaels went 2-1 against teams ranked 26th through 50th in the RPI (both of those games were wins over Gonzaga), they won all 18 of their games against teams ranked worse than No. 200.

At the end of the day, Saint Mary's needed to beat Gonzaga in the conference tournament to get the automatic berth, and it didn't get the job done. CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reacted to the committee's decision to leave the Gaels out:

But the key is their 27-5 record. Although the quality of the teams Saint Mary's beat isn't great, the Gaels still managed to take care of business. Saint Mary's is led by two talented sophomores in Emmett Naar and Calvin Hermanson. They are two of head coach Randy Bennett's four players who are averaging double figures this year, and the Gaels are a balanced and smart team that doesn't turn the ball over.

The Gaels have earned the right to be a favorite in the NIT and could use the motivation of not being a No. 1 seed to their advantage.

Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the Ultimate Sports Trip to four events of your choice. And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.