NIT 2018: Eligible Teams, Tournament Format and Schedule

The NIT provides one final chance for men's basketball teams to finish out their respective seasons on a high note.

Although the NIT doesn't compare to the NCAA men's basketball tournament in terms of prestige, it's used by teams to either conclude a terrific season with a championship, or set the foundation for next year.

A few mid-major teams have already qualified for the NIT, as they earned automatic berths as regular-season champions of their respective conferences.

Since the majority of the smaller conferences only get one bid to the Big Dance, the quartet of regular-season champions who failed to win their respective conference tournaments are forced to chase glory in the sport's secondary postseason tournament.

Eligible Teams

Any regular-season champion from a conference that doesn't qualify for March Madness automatically earns a berth in the NIT. 

The other participants are determined once the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament is set, and they can come from any conference.

Tournament Format

Thirty-two teams are split up into four different brackets, with the highest seed in each matchup hosting the game on campus before the final four teams play at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The NCAA announced a set of experimental rules for the 2018 NIT, including an extended three-point line and widened free-throw lane.

Instead of playing two 20-minute halves, the NIT will use four 10-minute quarters, and the shot clock resets to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound.

Schedule

Sunday, March 11: Bracket revealed

Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14: First round at campus sites

Thursday, March 15 through Monday, March 19: Second round at campus sites

Tuesday, March 20 and Wednesday, March 21: Quarterfinals at campus sites

Tuesday, March 27: Semifinals at Madison Square Garden

Thursday, March 29: Final at Madison Square Garden

4 Teams Confirmed for NIT

We won't know the entire field for the NIT until after NCAA tournament bracket is set, but we know four participants from the mid-major ranks as of now.

Florida Gulf Coast, Northern Kentucky, Rider and UNC Asheville qualified for the NIT after losing in their respective conference tournaments as No. 1 seeds.

Florida Gulf Coast, who is the most recognizable team of the four, fell in the Atlantic Sun championship to Lipscomb on its home court, as the visiting Bisons put up 60 points in the first half to open up a sizable advantage.

The Eagles attempted to come back from a 29-point halftime deficit, but they fell short despite Lipscomb's willingness to throw the game away at points in the second half.

Northern Kentucky didn't make it out of its first tournament game in the Horizon League, as eighth-seeded Cleveland State handed the Norse an 89-81 defeat.

At 22-9, the Norse could have been a dangerous opponent for a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Big Dance, but instead they are forced to settle for a potential home game in the NIT.

Cleveland State used the victory over Northern Kentucky as the catalyst for a berth in the final against Wright State Tuesday.

Rider also posted a 22-9 overall record and 15-3 mark in conference play, but the Broncs fell victim to an upset in the quarterfinals of the MAAC tournament.

After losing one game since January 18, the Broncs fell by 11 points to ninth-seeded St. Peter's on Friday. Iona went on to win the NCAA tournament bid from the conference.

UNC Asheville suffered a 69-64 loss to Liberty in the semifinals of the Big South tournament. Liberty then lost to Radford in Saturday's final.

The Bulldogs went 13-5 in the Big South but lost three of their last six games to end up in the NIT.

With plenty of mid-major tournaments being played this week, there's a good chance the quartet of regular-season champions is joined by a few more participants before the 32-team NIT field is released Sunday.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.