# 2025 National Invitation Tournament

The 2025 National Invitation Tournament is a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams not selected to participate in the 2025 NCAA tournament. The tournament will begin on March 18 and end on April 3. The first three rounds will be played on campuses, with the semifinal and championship final played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Six programs will be making their debut in the NIT: Cal State Northridge, Jacksonville State, North Alabama, Northern Colorado, Samford, and UC Riverside.

## Participants

Teams and pairings for the 2025 NIT will be released by the NIT Committee on Sunday, March 16, 2025. 32 teams will qualify for the NIT, including exempt qualifiers, automatic qualifiers, and at-large selections. In 2024, the Seton Hall Pirates won the NIT championship.

### Exempt qualifiers

For the 2025 NIT, exempt bids were extended to two teams from each of the Atlantic Coast (ACC) and Southeastern (SEC) conferences, plus one team each from the top twelve conferences (other than the ACC and SEC) as rated by KenPom on March 16, 2025. All exempt qualifiers were given the opportunity to host first-round games. The 12 conferences that earned exempt bids based on their KenPom ratings were
* The American
* Atlantic 10
* Big East
* Big Ten
* Big 12
* Big West
* Conference USA
* Ivy League
* Missouri Valley
* Mountain West
* West Coast
* WAC
The teams accepting exempt bids are shown in the table below. No schools from the Big East, Big Ten, Ivy, nor SEC accepted invitations into the tournament, creating five additional at-large berths.
| Team | Conference | Overall record | Appearance | Last bid |
| SMU | ACC | 23–10 | 7th | 2024 |
| Stanford | ACC | 20–13 | 10th | 2018 |
| North Texas | American | 24–8 | 4th | 2024 |
| George Mason | Atlantic 10 | 26–8 | 5th | 2009 |
| Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 15–17 | 14th | 2024 |
| UC Irvine | Big West | 28–6 | 9th | 2024 |
| Middle Tennessee | Conference USA | 22–11 | 5th | 2018 |
| Bradley | Missouri Valley | 26–8 | 24th | 2024 |
| San Jose State | Mountain West | 15–19 | 2nd | 1981 |
| San Francisco | West Coast | 24–9 | 8th | 2024 |
| Utah Valley† | WAC | 25–8 | 3rd | 2023 |
† Utah Valley had to decline hosting a first-round game due to scheduling issues at the UCCU Center.
The final KNIT scores of non-NCAA tournament teams from conferences that earned exempt bids through the close of play on March 16, 2025 (Selection Sunday), are summarized in the tables below. Teams in bold accepted a bid. Teams in italics were eligible for an automatic bid but declined.
Atlantic Coast Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| SMU | 45 | 62 | 46 | 47 | 51 | 47 | 57 | 51 |
| Wake Forest | 62 | 59 | 69 | 71 | 44 | 70 | 48 | 60 |
| Pittsburgh | 50 | 92 | 61 | 61 | 79 | 72 | 85 | 71 |
| Stanford | 88 | 76 | 81 | 82 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 78 |
| Florida State | 86 | 123 | 90 | 89 | 93 | 93 | 111 | 98 |
| Georgia Tech | 94 | 122 | 109 | 94 | 94 | 90 | 112 | 102 |
| Virginia | 100 | 124 | 110 | 104 | 100 | 96 | 117 | 107 |
| Notre Dame | 89 | 146 | 103 | 96 | 117 | 97 | 138 | 112 |
| Syracuse | 97 | 147 | 133 | 117 | 123 | 107 | 152 | 125 |
| California | 104 | 154 | 125 | 112 | 140 | 121 | 158 | 131 |
| NC State | 93 | 179 | 132 | 125 | 148 | 115 | 177 | 138 |
| Virginia Tech | 122 | 166 | 167 | 161 | 147 | 144 | 182 | 156 |
| Boston College | 161 | 203 | 202 | 184 | 166 | 172 | 196 | 183 |
| Miami (FL) | 119 | 251 | 225 | 192 | 188 | 185 | 269 | 204 |
Southeastern Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| LSU | 74 | 105 | 89 | 88 | 85 | 84 | 87 | 87 |
| South Carolina | 79 | 106 | 87 | 69 | 109 | 76 | 119 | 92 |
American Athletic Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| North Texas | 80 | 73 | 65 | 72 | 63 | 73 | 66 | 70 |
| UAB | 99 | 100 | 106 | 103 | 115 | 101 | 124 | 107 |
| Florida Atlantic | 102 | 139 | 111 | 115 | 138 | 111 | 157 | 125 |
| Wichita State | 120 | 140 | 134 | 135 | 129 | 140 | 145 | 135 |
| Tulane | 127 | 174 | 145 | 138 | 154 | 138 | 174 | 150 |
| Temple | 142 | 181 | 164 | 171 | 165 | 157 | 191 | 167 |
| East Carolina | 159 | 162 | 176 | 176 | 156 | 182 | 178 | 170 |
| South Florida | 147 | 207 | 189 | 195 | 188 | 201 | 245 | 196 |
| UTSA | 186 | 227 | 201 | 191 | 188 | 181 | 250 | 203 |
| Rice | 194 | 281 | 204 | 189 | 188 | 179 | 280 | 216 |
| Tulsa | 235 | 262 | 271 | 268 | 188 | 240 | 287 | 250 |
| Charlotte | 219 | 276 | 267 | 257 | 188 | 262 | 319 | 255 |
Atlantic 10 Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| George Mason | 69 | 47 | 68 | 78 | 53 | 71 | 55 | 63 |
| Dayton | 72 | 51 | 67 | 74 | 58 | 78 | 62 | 66 |
| Saint Joseph's | 71 | 64 | 76 | 79 | 92 | 82 | 106 | 81 |
| St. Bonaventure | 110 | 84 | 97 | 102 | 87 | 92 | 88 | 94 |
| Loyola Chicago | 101 | 78 | 107 | 108 | 95 | 98 | 101 | 98 |
| Saint Louis | 108 | 85 | 101 | 106 | 121 | 108 | 131 | 109 |
| George Washington | 116 | 119 | 124 | 113 | 126 | 116 | 134 | 121 |
| Rhode Island | 135 | 127 | 152 | 150 | 139 | 160 | 154 | 145 |
| Davidson | 130 | 157 | 153 | 148 | 163 | 142 | 181 | 153 |
| Duquesne | 118 | 145 | 149 | 132 | 188 | 123 | 251 | 158 |
| La Salle | 165 | 173 | 214 | 222 | 188 | 209 | 230 | 200 |
| UMass | 192 | 204 | 221 | 214 | 188 | 212 | 267 | 214 |
| Fordham | 213 | 209 | 239 | 229 | 188 | 216 | 278 | 225 |
| Richmond | 223 | 221 | 253 | 238 | 188 | 224 | 296 | 235 |
Big East Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Villanova† | 41 | 95 | 55 | 56 | 61 | 52 | 75 | 62 |
| Butler | 65 | 135 | 83 | 77 | 97 | 77 | 123 | 94 |
| Georgetown‡ | 84 | 129 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 94 | 103 | 95 |
| Providence | 83 | 149 | 100 | 97 | 131 | 104 | 169 | 119 |
| DePaul | 105 | 170 | 119 | 118 | 118 | 112 | 149 | 127 |
| Seton Hall | 150 | 240 | 211 | 206 | 188 | 217 | 259 | 210 |
† Top seeded Big East in the CBC. ‡ Second seeded Big East team in the CBC. The Big East committed to send two teams to the CBC.
Big Ten Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Ohio State | 37 | 53 | 41 | 39 | 56 | 41 | 59 | 47 |
| Indiana | 52 | 36 | 54 | 48 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 49 |
| Nebraska† | 55 | 55 | 59 | 54 | 60 | 62 | 61 | 58.0 |
| Northwestern | 47 | 65 | 53 | 45 | 71 | 54 | 73 | 58.3 |
| Iowa | 59 | 79 | 63 | 64 | 69 | 66 | 69 | 67 |
| USC‡ | 60 | 69 | 70 | 63 | 83 | 59 | 86 | 70 |
| Penn State | 58 | 86 | 66 | 60 | 80 | 64 | 84 | 71 |
| Rutgers | 76 | 83 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 68 | 83 | 77 |
| Minnesota | 90 | 67 | 96 | 90 | 89 | 86 | 97 | 88 |
| Washington | 107 | 109 | 117 | 109 | 105 | 118 | 118 | 112 |
† Top seeded Big Ten team in the CBC. ‡ Second seeded Big Ten team in the CBC. The Big Ten committed to send two teams to the CBC.
Big 12 Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| West Virginia | 51 | 48 | 51 | 53 | 42 | 34 | 41 | 46 |
| Cincinnati‡ | 40 | 66 | 50 | 55 | 59 | 44 | 60 | 53 |
| Kansas State† | 63 | 74 | 75 | 67 | 72 | 57 | 71 | 68 |
| UCF†, †† | 64 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 65 | 69 | 67 | 68 |
| TCU | 67 | 70 | 78 | 86 | 68 | 74 | 63 | 72 |
| Utah | 61 | 96 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 67 | 76 | 74.9 |
| Arizona State | 77 | 82 | 74 | 70 | 81 | 65 | 78 | 75.3 |
| Colorado | 82 | 101 | 86 | 81 | 91 | 81 | 95 | 88 |
| Oklahoma State | 103 | 112 | 95 | 100 | 76 | 87 | 82 | 94 |
† Teams finished with identical KNIT scores. ‡ Top seeded Big 12 team in the CBC. †† Second seeded Big 12 team in the CBC. The Big 12 committed to send two teams to the CBC.
Big West Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| UC Irvine | 95 | 41 | 62 | 66 | 57 | 80 | 51 | 65 |
| Cal State Northridge | 133 | 117 | 104 | 107 | 120 | 128 | 108 | 117 |
| UC Riverside | 200 | 98 | 142 | 145 | 119 | 151 | 105 | 137 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 157 | 160 | 140 | 147 | 170 | 147 | 156 | 154 |
| Cal Poly | 236 | 177 | 180 | 181 | 188 | 178 | 225 | 195 |
| Hawaii | 256 | 200 | 223 | 224 | 188 | 231 | 216 | 220 |
| UC Davis | 259 | 205 | 237 | 246 | 188 | 244 | 220 | 228 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 254 | 235 | 244 | 239 | 188 | 255 | 273 | 241 |
| Long Beach State | 324 | 324 | 326 | 303 | 188 | 309 | 336 | 301 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 355 | 329 | 348 | 351 | 188 | 354 | 341 | 324 |
Conference USA :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Middle Tennessee | 141 | 72 | 105 | 119 | 111 | 120 | 92 | 109 |
| Jacksonville State | 153 | 90 | 122 | 123 | 135 | 132 | 115 | 124 |
| Louisiana Tech | 140 | 103 | 126 | 126 | 150 | 134 | 129 | 130 |
| Kennesaw State | 185 | 102 | 137 | 130 | 158 | 124 | 141 | 140 |
| New Mexico State | 164 | 131 | 144 | 131 | 179 | 105 | 167 | 146 |
| UTEP | 196 | 128 | 157 | 158 | 175 | 143 | 165 | 160 |
| Western Kentucky | 198 | 132 | 159 | 159 | 174 | 159 | 163 | 163 |
| Sam Houston | 205 | 178 | 178 | 175 | 188 | 155 | 233 | 187 |
| FIU | 292 | 270 | 260 | 254 | 188 | 266 | 330 | 266 |
Ivy League :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Cornell | 117 | 141 | 120 | 128 | 134 | 125 | 142 | 130 |
| Princeton | 132 | 118 | 166 | 178 | 125 | 206 | 127 | 150 |
| Brown | 191 | 189 | 215 | 208 | 170 | 201 | 172 | 192 |
| Dartmouth | 187 | 219 | 209 | 205 | 188 | 176 | 208 | 199 |
| Harvard | 246 | 222 | 256 | 255 | 188 | 238 | 214 | 231 |
| Columbia | 241 | 268 | 272 | 277 | 188 | 299 | 222 | 252 |
| Penn | 271 | 279 | 304 | 291 | 188 | 303 | 276 | 273 |
Missouri Valley Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Bradley | 92 | 56 | 80 | 95 | 73 | 99 | 68 | 80 |
| Northern Iowa | 113 | 80 | 93 | 101 | 141 | 117 | 136 | 112 |
| Belmont | 162 | 93 | 129 | 129 | 116 | 130 | 116 | 125 |
| Illinois State | 124 | 121 | 121 | 140 | 155 | 131 | 162 | 136 |
| Murray State | 121 | 138 | 146 | 142 | 188 | 162 | 210 | 158 |
| UIC | 154 | 130 | 154 | 174 | 153 | 191 | 166 | 160 |
| Southern Illinois | 207 | 186 | 195 | 193 | 188 | 180 | 255 | 201 |
| Indiana State | 182 | 210 | 205 | 201 | 188 | 203 | 244 | 205 |
| Valparaiso | 203 | 199 | 206 | 212 | 188 | 219 | 256 | 212 |
| Missouri State | 237 | 269 | 245 | 245 | 188 | 207 | 328 | 246 |
| Evansville | 269 | 233 | 257 | 262 | 188 | 261 | 299 | 253 |
Mountain West Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Boise State | 48 | 50 | 44 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 52 | 50 |
| UNLV | 96 | 97 | 98 | 92 | 103 | 89 | 110 | 98 |
| Nevada | 78 | 126 | 79 | 80 | 128 | 88 | 128 | 101 |
| San Jose State | 181 | 194 | 175 | 165 | 179 | 152 | 203 | 178 |
| Wyoming | 199 | 217 | 197 | 185 | 188 | 189 | 212 | 198 |
| Fresno State | 274 | 287 | 278 | 256 | 188 | 258 | 317 | 265 |
| Air Force | 304 | 312 | 323 | 310 | 188 | 289 | 340 | 295 |
West Coast Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| San Francisco | 75 | 58 | 64 | 65 | 54 | 61 | 54 | 62 |
| Santa Clara | 70 | 61 | 57 | 57 | 88 | 51 | 81 | 66 |
| Oregon State | 98 | 113 | 85 | 85 | 108 | 91 | 94 | 96 |
| Washington State | 114 | 116 | 112 | 124 | 106 | 106 | 107 | 112 |
| Loyola Marymount | 169 | 153 | 162 | 155 | 161 | 148 | 137 | 155 |
| Pepperdine | 238 | 254 | 227 | 216 | 188 | 198 | 243 | 223 |
| Portland | 310 | 265 | 288 | 269 | 188 | 251 | 249 | 260 |
| Pacific | 316 | 309 | 295 | 283 | 188 | 279 | 309 | 283 |
| San Diego | 322 | 341 | 324 | 296 | 188 | 292 | 344 | 301 |
Western Athletic Conference :
| Team | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Utah Valley | 126 | 120 | 108 | 114 | 86 | 110 | 79 | 106 |
| Seattle | 144 | 212 | 155 | 146 | 188 | 139 | 239 | 175 |
| California Baptist | 166 | 190 | 172 | 167 | 188 | 156 | 190 | 176 |
| Abilene Christian | 244 | 238 | 228 | 219 | 188 | 200 | 206 | 218 |
| UT Arlington | 210 | 271 | 231 | 226 | 188 | 239 | 252 | 231 |
| Tarleton | 294 | 278 | 302 | 286 | 188 | 285 | 263 | 271 |
| Southern Utah | 306 | 304 | 306 | 295 | 188 | 325 | 270 | 285 |
| Utah Tech | 318 | 335 | 309 | 301 | 188 | 298 | 346 | 299 |

### Automatic qualifiers

Additionally, automatic bids will be given to regular-season conference champions with an average ranking (or "KNIT" score) of 125 or better across the BPI, KPI, NET, KenPom, SOR, Torvik and WAB rankings.
The final KNIT scores through the close of play on March 16, 2025 (Selection Sunday), of teams that were conference regular-season champions, failed to win their conference tournament and are not from conferences receiving an exempt bid are summarized in the table below.
| Team | Conference | BPI | KPI | NET | KPR | SOR | TOR | WAB | KNIT |
| Bucknell | Patriot League | 215 | 243 | 213 | 225 | 188 | 214 | 205 | 215 |
| Central Connecticut | Northeast | 167 | 183 | 168 | 183 | 113 | 194 | 104 | 159 |
| Chattanooga | Southern | 134 | 88 | 115 | 110 | 96 | 135 | 89 | 110 |
| Northern Colorado | Big Sky | 128 | 143 | 114 | 122 | 110 | 119 | 91 | 118 |
| Quinnipiac | MAAC | 202 | 195 | 191 | 213 | 179 | 210 | 187 | 197 |
| South Alabama * | Sun Belt | 138 | 158 | 123 | 121 | 136 | 136 | 135 | 135 |
| Southeast Missouri State | Ohio Valley | 243 | 198 | 188 | 204 | 188 | 197 | 175 | 199 |
| Southern | SWAC | 220 | 228 | 224 | 233 | 179 | 215 | 143 | 206 |
| Towson | CAA | 145 | 114 | 151 | 154 | 124 | 168 | 122 | 140 |
Teams qualifying for and acccepting automatic bids were as follows:
| Team | Conference | Overall Record | Appearance | Last Bid |
| Chattanooga | Southern | 24–9 | 5th | 1987 |
| Northern Colorado | Big Sky | 25–9 | 1st | Never |
* According to multiple reports, due to the volume of "high-major" programs declining NIT bids, the NCAA "assigned" (rather than "offered") some NIT bids without notifying the programs involved in advance. UC Riverside, who didn't know about the NCAA inviting them to the NIT, confirmed their participation in the CBI. Thinking UC Riverside declined participation, the NIT called South Alabama to invite them to the tournament, just to take it back an hour later, while UC Riverside ultimately confirmed participation in the NIT and dropped out of the CBI.

### At-large bids

The following teams were awarded at-large bids.
| Team | Conference | Overall Record | Appearance | Last Bid |
| Arkansas State | Sun Belt | 24–10 | 5th | 1991 |
| Cal State Northridge | Big West | 22–10 | 1st | Never |
| Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 22–10 | 28th | 2022 |
| Florida Atlantic | American | 18–15 | 2nd | 2011 |
| Furman | Southern | 25–9 | 3rd | 2019 |
| Georgia Tech | ACC | 17–16 | 10th | 2017 |
| Jacksonville State | Conference USA | 22–12 | 1st | Never |
| Kent State | Mid-American | 22–11 | 10th | 2011 |
| Loyola Chicago | Atlantic 10 | 22–11 | 7th | 2024 |
| North Alabama | ASUN | 24–10 | 1st | Never |
| Northern Iowa | Missouri Valley | 20–12 | 3rd | 2022 |
| Saint Louis | Atlantic 10 | 19–14 | 21st | 2022 |
| Saint Joseph's | Atlantic 10 | 22–12 | 18th | 2024 |
| Samford | Southern | 22–10 | 1st | Never |
| Santa Clara | West Coast | 20–12 | 7th | 2023 |
| St. Bonaventure | Atlantic 10 | 22–11 | 18th | 2022 |
| UAB | American | 22–12 | 14th | 2023 |
| UC Riverside | Big West | 21–12 | 1st | Never |
| Wichita State | American | 19–14 | 14th | 2019 |

### Declined bids

The following schools declined to play in the 2025 NIT:
* Boise State (accepted CBC instead)
* Butler (accepted CBC instead)
* Florida State
* Georgetown (accepted CBC instead)
* Indiana
* LSU
* Nevada
* Northwestern
* Pittsburgh
* Providence
* Rutgers
* South Carolina
* UNLV
* Villanova (accepted CBC instead)
* Wake Forest

## Bracket
### Dallas Region

| First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites | First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites |
| 1 | SMU* |
| | Northern Iowa |
| 4 | Oklahoma State* |
| | Wichita State |
| 2 | North Texas* |
| | Furman |
| 3 | Arkansas State* |
| | Saint Louis |
(*) Host institution

### Dayton Region

| First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites | First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites |
| 1 | Dayton |
| | Florida Atlantic* |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee* |
| | Chattanooga |
| 2 | George Mason* |
| | Samford |
| 3 | Bradley* |
| | North Alabama |
(*) Host institution

### San Francisco Region

| First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites | First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites |
| 1 | San Francisco |
| | Utah Valley |
| 4 | San Jose State |
| | Loyola Chicago |
| 2 | Stanford |
| | Cal State Northridge |
| 3 | St. Bonaventure |
| | Kent State |

### Irvine Region

| First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites | First Round March 18–19 Campus Sites |
| 1 | UC Irvine |
| | Northern Colorado |
| 4 | Georgia Tech |
| | Jacksonville State |
| 2 | Santa Clara |
| | UC Riverside |
| 3 | Saint Joseph's |
| | UAB |

### NIT semifinals and final

| Semifinals April 1 Hinkle Fieldhouse | Semifinals April 1 Hinkle Fieldhouse |
| Dallas Region winner | Dallas Region winner |
| Irvine Region winner | Irvine Region winner |
| Dayton Region winner | Dayton Region winner |
| San Francisco Region winner | San Francisco Region winner |

## Game summaries

    All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

### First round

* March 18 7:00 p.m.
* March 18 7:00 p.m.
* March 18 7:00 p.m.
* March 18 7:00 p.m.
* March 18 9:00 p.m.
* March 18 9:00 p.m.
* March 18 9:00 p.m.
* March 18 9:00 p.m.
* March 18 11:00 p.m.
* March 19 7:00 p.m.
* March 19 7:00 p.m.
* March 19 7:00 p.m.
* March 19 8:00 p.m.
* March 19 8:00 p.m.
* March 19 9:00 p.m.
* March 19 9:00 p.m.

### Second round

* March 22 11:30 a.m.
* March 22 2:00 p.m.
* March 22 7:00 p.m.
* March 23 2:00 p.m.
* March 23 4:00 p.m.
* March 23 7:30 p.m.
* March 23 9:00 p.m.
* March 23 9:30 p.m.

### Quarterfinals

* March 25 7:00 p.m.
* March 25 9:00 p.m.
* March 27 7:00 p.m.
* March 26 9:00 p.m.

### Semifinals

* April 1 7:00 p.m.
* April 1 9:30 p.m.

### Final

* April 3 7:00 p.m.

## Media

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