NIT 2018: Known Tournament Info, Format and Championship Dates

The 2017 men's National Invitation Tournament was one of the more bizarre postseason college basketball competitions in recent memory due to a variety of factors, most notably all four No. 1 seeds losing in the first or second round.

It was a fun tournament that featured big upsets, a Cinderella story and a NIT championship team on the rise that vaulted itself into the NCAA tournament conversation this year.

You can take a trip down memory lane in a quick recap of that tournament below, and you can also find information regarding the bracket reveal, round-by-round dates, format and qualified teams.

Tournament Bracket Reveal Information Schedule

ESPNU will carry the NIT Selection Special on Sunday starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. Fans can live-stream the bracket reveal via WatchESPN.

Men's NIT Dates

Sunday, March 11: Bracket revealed

Tuesday, March 13, and Wednesday, March 14: Round 1 at campus sites

Thursday, March 15, through Monday, March 19: Round 2 at campus sites

Tuesday, March 20, and Wednesday, March 21: NIT quarterfinals at campus sites

Tuesday, March 27: NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Thursday, March 29: NIT finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City

NIT Format

The 32 teams are split into four quadrants of eight teams each and seeded No. 1 through No. 8. The higher seed always hosts the lower seed in the first three rounds. There is no reseeding.

Teams that won their conference's regular-season title but did not make the NCAA tournament are automatically invited into the NIT. Other at-large teams for the field are chosen by a committee based on a variety of factors, such as Ratings Percentage Index and strength of schedule.

Qualified Teams

The following teams will be invited to the NIT if they do not receive NCAA tournament invites: Florida Gulf Coast, Wagner, Northern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, UNC Asheville and Rider.

Per the Bracket Matrix, Middle Tennessee is projected as one of the last at-large teams in the NCAA tournament field by a few sources, including Joe Lunardi of ESPN. The other five schools listed above are not projected to make the NCAA tournament.

2017 NIT Recap

All Four No. 1 Seeds Lose Before Quarterfinals

All four No. 1 seeds were serious contenders to make the NCAA tournament before their respective bubbles popped on Selection Sunday, but they each faltered in either the first or second round of the 2017 NIT.

No. 8 Cal State Bakersfield shocked No. 1 Cal with a 73-66 win. Syracuse won its opener but lost 85-80 to Ole Miss in the second round. Iowa put up a fight against eventual NIT champion TCU but fell short 94-92, and Illinois State, which went 17-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play, lost to UCF.

Cal State Bakersfield Makes a Run as the No. 8 Seed

The Cinderella story in the NIT was CSUB, who engineered an excellent run to Madison Square Garden. As noted before, they defeated Cal on the road. The Roadrunners then crushed Colorado State 81-63 before heading south to face UT Arlington, which was the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt tournament and a potential sleeper pick in the NCAA tournament before it lost in the conference semifinals.

Once again, CSU Bakersfield came through in the clutch, winning 80-76 to head to New York. The Roadrunners' trip to the Big Apple was short, as they lost to Georgia Tech, but they still posted an incredible three-game effort just to get to the semifinals.

TCU Dominates Final Three Rounds, Wins NIT

TCU survived two tough games against Fresno State and Illinois to open the NIT campaign, but the Horned Frogs proceeded to roll over the rest of their competition by an average of 22 points.

They first took down Richmond in the quarterfinals 81-63 before heading to New York and beating UCF 68-53. The finals turned out to be no contest, as TCU crushed Georgia Tech 88-53.

Perhaps the Horned Frogs' NIT championship run was a sign of things to come for this year, as TCU is a shoo-in to be named an at-large team in the NCAA tournament field (Joe Lunardi of ESPN projects them as a No. 6 seed).