# 2021 National Invitation Tournament

The 2021 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 16 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams that had not been selected to participate in the 2021 NCAA tournament. The Tournament began on March 17 and ended on March 28. All rounds were played at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas or the UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas. First-round games began on Wednesday, March 17, and was played through Saturday, March 20. Quarterfinals also took place Thursday, March 25. The semifinals and championship took place Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28. The 2021 tournament also featured a third-place game Sunday, March 28, which had not been played at the NIT since 2003. Also, the final game to be played was not the championship, but, rather, the third-place game. This was the first NIT in which the semifinals and final were not played in New York City.

## Participants

Teams and pairings for the 2021 NIT were released by the NIT Committee at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, March 14, on ESPNU. Because of the reduced field size, halved from 2019's tournament field, all 16 teams were selected as at-large participants, and there were no automatic qualifiers for the 2021 NIT. In 2019, Texas won the NIT title. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Automatic qualifiers

There were no automatic qualifiers in the 2021 NIT due to the reduced field size.

### At-large bids

The following teams were awarded NIT berths.
| Team | Conference | Overall record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Boise State | Mtn West | 18–8 | 7th | 2018 |
| Buffalo | MAC | 16–8 | 2nd | 2005 |
| Colorado State | Mtn West | 18–6 | 10th | 2017 |
| Davidson | Atlantic 10 | 13–8 | 9th | 2019 |
| Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 14–9 | 26th | 2019 |
| Louisiana Tech | C–USA | 21–7 | 10th | 2015 |
| Memphis | American | 16–8 | 19th | 2019 |
| Mississippi State | SEC | 15–14 | 10th | 2018 |
| NC State | ACC | 13–10 | 13th | 2019 |
| Ole Miss | SEC | 16–11 | 13th | 2017 |
| Richmond | Atlantic 10 | 13–8 | 10th | 2017 |
| Saint Louis | Atlantic 10 | 14–6 | 19th | 2004 |
| Saint Mary's | WCC | 14–9 | 7th | 2018 |
| SMU | American | 11–5 | 4th | 2014 |
| Toledo | MAC | 21–8 | 10th | 2019 |
| Western Kentucky | C–USA | 20–7 | 15th | 2018 |

## Bracket

The field of 16 teams was announced on March 14 on ESPNU.
| First round March 17–20 | First round March 17–20 | First round March 17–20 | Quarterfinals March 25 | Quarterfinals March 25 | Quarterfinals March 25 | Semifinals March 27 | Semifinals March 27 | Semifinals March 27 | | Final March 28 | Final March 28 | Final March 28 |
| 1 | Colorado State | 75 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Buffalo | 73 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Buffalo | 73 | 1 | Colorado State | 65 | | | | | | | |
| March 19 March 18 | March 19 March 18 | March 19 March 18 | 1 | Colorado State | 65 | | | | | | | |
| March 19 March 18 | March 19 March 18 | March 19 March 18 | 3 | NC State | 61 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Davidson | 61 | 3 | NC State | 61 | | | | | | | |
| 3 | NC State | 75 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | NC State | 75 | | | | 1 | Colorado State | 67 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Memphis | 90 | | | | |
| 1 | Memphis | 71 | | | | | | | 1 | Memphis | 90 | | | | |
| 4 | Dayton | 60 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Dayton | 60 | 1 | Memphis | 59 | | | | | | | |
| March 20 March 18 | March 20 March 18 | March 20 March 18 | 1 | Memphis | 59 | | | | | | | |
| March 20 March 18 | March 20 March 18 | March 20 March 18 | 2 | Boise State | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Boise State | 85 | 2 | Boise State | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 3 | SMU | 84 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | SMU | 84 | | | | | | | | 1 | Memphis | 77 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Mississippi State | 64 |
| 1 | Saint Louis | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Mississippi State | 64 |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 74 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 74 | 4 | Mississippi State | 68 | | | |
| March 20 March 17 | March 20 March 17 | March 20 March 17 | 4 | Mississippi State | 68 | | | |
| March 20 March 17 | March 20 March 17 | March 20 March 17 | 2 | Richmond | 67 | | | |
| 2 | Richmond | 76 | 2 | Richmond | 67 | | | |
| 3 | Toledo | 66 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Toledo | 66 | | | | 4 | Mississippi State | 84 |
| | | | | | | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 62 |
| 1 | Ole Miss | 61 | | | | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 62 | | Third-place game March 28 | Third-place game March 28 | Third-place game March 28 |
| 4 | Louisiana Tech | 70 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Louisiana Tech | 70 | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 72 | | | | | 1 | Colorado State | 74 |
| March 19 March 17 | March 19 March 17 | March 19 March 17 | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 72 | | | | | 1 | Colorado State | 74 |
| March 19 March 17 | March 19 March 17 | March 19 March 17 | 3 | Western Kentucky | 65 | | | | | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 76 |
| 2 | Saint Mary's | 67 | 3 | Western Kentucky | 65 | | | | | 4 | Louisiana Tech | 76 |
| 3 | Western Kentucky | 69 | | | | | | |

## Media

ESPN, Inc. broadcast all NIT games on ESPN or ESPN2. The semifinals and finals were broadcast on ESPN. Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and the championship.