NIT Tournament 2019: Bracket, Schedule and Top 1st-Round Matchups to Watch

The start of the season represents an opportunity for all teams to dream about winning a spot in the NCAA Tournament and going after basketball glory.

However, the NCAA field is limited to 68 teams, and there are a number of teams that deserve to play postseason basketball. The National Invitational Tournament represents an opportunity to do that.

It may be a consolation prize for some teams, but it is another opportunity to compete, improve and earn at least a small share of glory.

Here's a look at the NIT bracket, schedule and top first-round games to watch.

2019 NIT Schedule

The NIT bracket can be found here. All times ET.

First Round

Tuesday, March 19

Campbell at UNC Greensboro, 7 p.m., ESPN3

Lipscomb at Davidson, 7 p.m., ESPN3

Hofstra at NC State, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Saint Francis (Pa.) at Indiana, 7 p.m., ESPN

Wright State at Clemson, 7 p.m., ESPNU

San Diego at Memphis, 8 p.m., ESPN3

Arkansas at Providence, 9 p.m., ESPN2

South Dakota State at Texas, 9 p.m., ESPN

Loyola-Chicago at Creighton, 9 p.m., ESPNU

Dayton at Colorado, 11 p.m., ESPN2

Wednesday, March 20

Harvard at Georgetown, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Wichita State at Furman, 7 p.m., ESPN3

Norfolk State at Alabama, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Toledo at Xavier, 7 p.m., ESPN3

Sam Houston State at TCU, 9 p.m., ESPNU

Butler at Nebraska, 9 p.m., ESPN2       

Second Round

March 21-25 at campus sites          

Quarterfinals

March 26-27 at campus sites         

Semifinals

April 2 at Madison Square Garden         

Final

April 4 at Madison Square Garden

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

St. Francis-Pennsylvania (18-14) at Indiana (17-15)

The Hoosiers were among the most disappointed teams on Selection Sunday, as they learned what many had suspected and were not issued an invitation to the NCAA tournament.

The Hoosiers are the No. 1 team in the NIT, and they should have an excellent chance of getting to Madison Square Garden for the tournament's semifinals and championship round.

Their first opponent is St. Francis (Pa.), and the Red Flash improved quite a bit as the season progressed. St. Francis finished the season by winning 11 of its last 14 games in finishing second in the Northeast Conference. 

The Red Flash made it to the conference tournament title game before dropping an 85-76 decision to Fairleigh Dickinson, the team that will represent the NEC in the Big Dance.

St. Francis is led by guards Keith Braxton and Jamaal King. Braxton is averaging a team-high 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and he connects on 46.4 percent of his shots from the floor. King is also a productive scorer with an average of 15.4 points and 4.0 assists per game.

The Hoosiers are a much bigger team than the Red Flash, and their ability to defend is likely to slow Braxton and King down.

Head coach Archie Miller's Hoosiers had a number of impressive wins during the season, including beating Michigan State twice, and victories over Marquette and Louisville. However, they had losing streaks of seven and five games, and that was difficult to overcome.

Romeo Langford leads the Hoosiers with an average of 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while Juwan Morgan is contributing 15.4 points per game.

While those two are the only Indiana players in double figures, they have the depth to win impressively and move onto the second round.

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Arkansas (17-15) at Providence (18-15)

The Razorbacks went into the SEC tournament having won three games in a row and feeling good about their chances, but they lost to Florida in the first round of the tournament and that ended their chances of a glorious run.

Arkansas is a deserving NIT entrant, but head coach Mike Anderson found out that leading scorer Mike Gafford will not be playing in the postseason because he is signing with an agent and entering the NBA Draft.

Gafford would have been a huge factor for the Friars to contend with had he opted to play. He averaged 16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks, and shot 66.0 percent from the field.

Arkansas will depend on guards Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones to rally the team. Joe is averaging 14.0 points and is connecting on 42.0 percent of his three-point shots, while Jones is averaging 13.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

"At this point, we’ll be happy to play another basketball game," Joe said, per Trey Biddy of HawgSports.com. "Nobody wants their season to end short. We’ve just got to keep a positive attitude and see where we’re going to go from here. We’ve just got to hold our heads high, don’t let us hit the ground."

Providence was 18-15 during the regular season but just 7-11 in Big East competition, and that was clearly not enough to warrant an NCAA invitation.

Guard Alpha Diallo leads the Friars in scoring with an average of 16.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He was pleased that the Friars don't have to travel for their opening game.

"I’m happy we’re home and not going to Arkansas," Diallo said, per Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal. "We’re excited to keep playing. The Big East Tournament didn’t go as planned, so we’re looking forward."

The Friars won their Big East Tournament opener against Butler before dropping their next game to Villanova.

Diallo gets help from center Nate Watson, who is averaging 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while A.J. Reeves is the other Friar in double figures with a mark of 10.1 ppg.

The loss of Gafford hurts the Razorbacks, and they won't have enough weapons to beat Providence on the road.