# 2023 National Invitation Tournament

The 2023 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams not selected to participate in the 2023 NCAA tournament. The tournament began on March 14 and ended on March 30. The first three rounds were played on campuses, with the semifinal and championship final played at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Valley.

## Participants

Teams and parings for the 2023 NIT were released by the NIT Committee on Sunday, March 12. Thirty-two teams qualified for the NIT, both automatic qualifiers and at-large selections. In 2022, the Xavier Musketeers won the NIT Title.

### Automatic qualifiers

Teams which had the best regular-season record in their conference but failed to win their conference tournament automatically qualified for the 2023 NIT if they were not selected for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
| Team | Conference | Overall record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Eastern Washington | Big Sky | 22–10 | 2nd | 2003 |
| UC Irvine | Big West | 23–11 | 7th | 2017 |
| Hofstra | CAA | 24–9 | 7th | 2019 |
| Youngstown State | Horizon | 24–9 | 1st | Never |
| Yale | Ivy League | 21–8 | 2nd | 2002 |
| Toledo | MAC | 27–7 | 10th | 2022 |
| Bradley | MVC | 25–9 | 22nd | 2007 |
| Morehead State | OVC | 21–11 | 1st | Never |
| Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 25–7 | 11th | 2014 |
| Alcorn State | SWAC | 18–13 | 4th | 2022 |
| Utah Valley | WAC | 25–8 | 2nd | 2014 |

### At-large bids

The following teams were awarded at-large bids.
| Team | Conference | Overall record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Cincinnati | American | 21–12 | 11th | 2010 |
| Clemson | ACC | 23–10 | 18th | 2019 |
| Colorado | Pac-12 | 17–16 | 13th | 2022 |
| Florida | SEC | 16–16 | 11th | 2022 |
| Liberty | ASUN | 26–8 | 1st | Never |
| Michigan | Big Ten | 17–15 | 10th | 2007 |
| New Mexico | Mountain West | 22–11 | 20th | 2011 |
| North Texas | Conference USA | 26–7 | 2nd | 2022 |
| Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 18–15 | 13th | 2018 |
| Oregon | Pac-12 | 19–14 | 13th | 2022 |
| Rutgers | Big Ten | 19–14 | 15th | 2006 |
| Sam Houston | WAC | 25–7 | 2nd | 2019 |
| Santa Clara | West Coast | 23–9 | 7th | 2022 |
| Seton Hall | Big East | 17–15 | 18th | 2012 |
| UAB | Conference USA | 25–9 | 13th | 2016 |
| UCF | American | 18–14 | 3rd | 2017 |
| Vanderbilt | SEC | 20–14 | 14th | 2022 |
| Villanova | Big East | 17–16 | 18th | 2004 |
| Virginia Tech | ACC | 19–14 | 14th | 2016 |
| Washington State | Pac-12 | 17–16 | 7th | 2022 |
| Wisconsin | Big Ten | 17–14 | 5th | 1996 |

### Declined invitations

The following programs declined to participate in the 2023 NIT:
* North Carolina
* Dayton (It is unclear if Dayton would have been invited had they not preemptively declined.)

## Bracket

The 32-team bracket was announced on March 12, via the NIT Selection Show on ESPNU at 10 p.m. EST.
| First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Quarterfinal March 21 Gallagher-Iba Arena | Quarterfinal March 21 Gallagher-Iba Arena | Quarterfinal March 21 Gallagher-Iba Arena |
| 1 | Oklahoma State^ | 69 | | | | | | |
| | Youngstown State | 64 | | | | | | |
| | Youngstown State | 64 | 1 | Oklahoma State | 71 | | | |
| | | | | Eastern Washington | 60 | | | |
| 4 | Washington State | 74 | | Eastern Washington | 60 | | | |
| | Eastern Washington | 81 | | | | | | |
| | Eastern Washington | 81 | | | | 1 | Oklahoma State | 59 |
| | | | | | | 2 | North Texas | 65$^{OT}$ |
| 2 | North Texas | 69 | | | | | | | 2 | North Texas | 65$^{OT}$ |
| | Alcorn State | 53 | | | | | | |
| | Alcorn State | 53 | 2 | North Texas | 75 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Sam Houston | 55 | | | |
| 3 | Sam Houston^^ | 58 | 3 | Sam Houston | 55 | | | |
| | Santa Clara | 56 | | | | | | |
    ^ Oklahoma State played its first-round game at Youngstown State due to a scheduling conflict at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
    ^^ Sam Houston State played its first-round game at Santa Clara due to a scheduling conflict at Bernard Johnson Coliseum.
| First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Quarterfinal March 21 Matthew Knight Arena | Quarterfinal March 21 Matthew Knight Arena | Quarterfinal March 21 Matthew Knight Arena |
| 1 | Oregon | 84 | | | | | | |
| | UC Irvine | 58 | | | | | | |
| | UC Irvine | 58 | 1 | Oregon | 68 | | | |
| | | | | UCF | 54 | | | |
| 4 | Florida | 49 | | UCF | 54 | | | |
| | UCF | 67 | | | | | | |
| | UCF | 67 | | | | 1 | Oregon | 58 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Wisconsin | 61 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 81 | | | | | | | 2 | Wisconsin | 61 |
| | Bradley | 62 | | | | | | |
| | Bradley | 62 | 2 | Wisconsin | 75 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Liberty | 71 | | | |
| 3 | Liberty | 62 | 3 | Liberty | 71 | | | |
| | Villanova | 57 | | | | | | |
| First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Quarterfinal March 22 UCCU Center | Quarterfinal March 22 UCCU Center | Quarterfinal March 22 UCCU Center |
| 1 | Rutgers | 86 | | | | | | |
| | Hofstra | 88$^{OT}$ | | | | | | |
| | Hofstra | 88$^{OT}$ | | Hofstra | 65 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Cincinnati^ | 79 | | | |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 81 | 4 | Cincinnati^ | 79 | | | |
| | Virginia Tech | 72 | | | | | | |
| | Virginia Tech | 72 | | | | 4 | Cincinnati^^ | 68 |
| | | | | | | | Utah Valley | 74 |
| 2 | New Mexico | 69 | | | | | | | Utah Valley | 74 |
| | Utah Valley | 83 | | | | | | |
| | Utah Valley | 83 | | Utah Valley | 81 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Colorado | 69 | | | |
| 3 | Colorado | 65 | 3 | Colorado | 69 | | | |
| | Seton Hall | 64 | | | | | | |
    ^ Cincinnati played its second-round game at Hofstra due to their home court at Fifth Third Arena being renovated.
    ^^ Cincinnati played its third-round game at Utah Valley due to their home court at Fifth Third Arena being renovated.
| First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | First round March 14–15 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Second round March 18–19 Campus sites | Quarterfinal March 22 Memorial Gymnasium | Quarterfinal March 22 Memorial Gymnasium | Quarterfinal March 22 Memorial Gymnasium |
| 1 | Clemson | 64 | | | | | | |
| | Morehead State | 68 | | | | | | |
| | Morehead State | 68 | | Morehead State | 59 | | | |
| | | | 4 | UAB | 77 | | | |
| 4 | UAB | 88 | 4 | UAB | 77 | | | |
| | Southern Miss | 60 | | | | | | |
| | Southern Miss | 60 | | | | 4 | UAB | 67 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Vanderbilt | 59 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt | 71 | | | | | | | 2 | Vanderbilt | 59 |
| | Yale | 62 | | | | | | |
| | Yale | 62 | 2 | Vanderbilt | 66 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Michigan | 65 | | | |
| 3 | Michigan | 90 | 3 | Michigan | 65 | | | |
| | Toledo | 80 | | | | | | |
| Semifinals March 28 Orleans Arena | Semifinals March 28 Orleans Arena | Semifinals March 28 Orleans Arena | Final March 30 Orleans Arena | Final March 30 Orleans Arena | Final March 30 Orleans Arena |
| 2 | North Texas | 56 | | | |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 54 | | | |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 54 | 2 | North Texas | 68 |
| | | | 4 | UAB | 61 |
| | Utah Valley | 86 | 4 | UAB | 61 |
| 4 | UAB | 88$^{OT}$ | | | |

## Media

ESPN, Inc. had exclusive television rights to all of the NIT games. It telecast every game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, and ESPN+. Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and the championship.