# 2018 National Invitation Tournament

The 2018 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I college men's basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA tournament. The first three rounds of the annual tournament were played on campus sites (the host team being the higher-seeded team). The semifinals and championship game were held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

## Experimental rules

In February 2018, the NCAA approved a number of experimental rule changes for use in this tournament:
* Games were played in 10-minute quarters instead of 20-minute halves. The NCAA has used this timing convention for women's basketball since the 2015–16 season.
* As in NCAA women's basketball, as well as the 2017 NIT, there were no "one-and-one" foul shots. Starting with the fifth foul in each quarter, non-shooting fouls by the defense resulted in two free throws, with the exception of administrative technical fouls (for which only one shot is awarded). The 2018 NIT, however, returned to the standard NCAA procedure of treating overtime periods as extensions of the final period of regulation for purposes of team foul accumulation.
* The three-point line changed to the current FIBA distance of 6.75 metres (22 ft 2 in) from the center of the basket, except along the sidelines. Once the arc reaches a distance of 1.02 metres (3 ft 4 in) from the sideline, it becomes a straight line parallel to the sideline.
* The free-throw lane was 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, the same width as in (W)NBA and FIBA rules, instead of the 12 feet (3.7 m) in the current NCAA rules.
* The shot clock was reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound.

### Notes

* ↑ FIBA's definition of the three-point arc calls for the line to be exactly 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) from the sideline until it intersects the 6.75 m arc. However, the FIBA court is officially defined as 15 m (49 ft 3 in) wide, slightly narrower than the NCAA standard of 50 ft (15.24 m). On a FIBA court, the closest three-point distance, found along a line parallel to the baseline that passes through the center of the basket, is thus 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in) from the center of the basket. Translating this distance to the NCAA court dimensions results in the line being the stated 1.02 m from the sidelines.

## Participants
### Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were guaranteed berths into the 2018 NIT field by having the best regular-season record in their conference but failing to either win their conference tournament or earn an at-large berth in the 2018 NCAA tournament.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Florida Gulf Coast | ASUN | 23–11 | 2nd | 2014 |
| Hampton | MEAC | 19–15 | 1st | Never |
| Harvard | Ivy | 18–13 | 2nd | 2011 |
| Louisiana | Sun Belt | 27–6 | 6th | 2003 |
| Middle Tennessee | C-USA | 24–7 | 4th | 2012 |
| Northern Kentucky | Horizon | 22–9 | 1st | Never |
| Rider | Metro Atlantic | 22–9 | 2nd | 1998 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Southland | 22–11 | 1st | Never |
| UC Davis | Big West | 22–10 | 2nd | 2015 |
| UNC Asheville | Big South | 21–12 | 2nd | 2008 |
| Vermont | America East | 27–7 | 4th | 2014 |
| Wagner | Northeast | 23–9 | 4th | 2016 |
Grambling State won the SWAC regular-season title but was banned from the postseason due to low graduation rates and did not participate in the conference tournament. There was thus no automatic qualifier from the SWAC.

### At-large bids

The following 20 teams were also awarded NIT berths.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
| Baylor | Big 12 | 18–14 | 6th | 2013 |
| Boise State | Mountain West | 23–8 | 6th | 2017 |
| Boston College | ACC | 19–15 | 12th | 2011 |
| BYU | WCC | 24–10 | 14th | 2017 |
| Louisville | ACC | 20–13 | 15th | 2006 |
| LSU | SEC | 17–14 | 8th | 2014 |
| Marquette | Big East | 19–13 | 16th | 2005 |
| Mississippi State | SEC | 22–11 | 9th | 2012 |
| Nebraska | Big Ten | 22–10 | 18th | 2011 |
| Notre Dame | ACC | 20–14 | 12th | 2009 |
| Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 19–14 | 12th | 2011 |
| Oregon | Pac-12 | 22–12 | 11th | 2012 |
| Penn State | Big Ten | 21–13 | 11th | 2009 |
| Stanford | Pac-12 | 18–15 | 9th | 2015 |
| Saint Mary's | WCC | 28–5 | 5th | 2016 |
| Temple | American | 17–15 | 19th | 2015 |
| USC | Pac-12 | 23–11 | 5th | 1999 |
| Utah | Pac-12 | 19–11 | 14th | 2017 |
| Washington | Pac-12 | 20–12 | 9th | 2016 |
| Western Kentucky | C-USA | 24–10 | 14th | 2006 |

### Bids by conference

| Conference | Bids |
| Pac-12 | 5 |
| ACC | 3 |
| Big 12, Big Ten, C-USA, SEC, West Coast | 2 |
| America East, American, ASUN, Big East, Big South, Big West, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Northeast, Southland, Sun Belt | 1 |
| Atlantic 10, Big Sky, CAA, MAC, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, SWAC, Summit, WAC | 0 |

## Seeds

Saint Mary's bracket :
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Saint Mary's | WCC | 28–5 | At-large |
| 2 | Utah | Pac-12 | 19–11 | At-large |
| 3 | LSU | SEC | 17–14 | At-large |
| 4 | Boise State | Mountain West | 23–8 | At-large |
| 5 | Washington | Pac-12 | 20–12 | At-large |
| 6 | Louisiana | Sun Belt | 27–6 | Automatic |
| 7 | UC Davis | Big West | 22–10 | Automatic |
| 8 | SE Louisiana | Southland | 22–11 | Automatic |
Baylor bracket :
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Baylor | Big 12 | 18–14 | At-large |
| 2 | Louisville | ACC | 20–13 | At-large |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee | C-USA | 24–7 | Automatic |
| 4 | Mississippi State | SEC | 22–11 | At-large |
| 5 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 22–10 | At-large |
| 6 | Vermont | America East | 27–7 | Automatic |
| 7 | Northern Kentucky | Horizon | 22–9 | Automatic |
| 8 | Wagner | NEC | 23–9 | Automatic |
USC bracket :
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | USC | Pac-12 | 23–11 | At-large |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 19–14 | At-large |
| 3 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 18–15 | At-large |
| 4 | Western Kentucky | C-USA | 24–10 | At-large |
| 5 | Boston College | ACC | 19–15 | At-large |
| 6 | BYU | WCC | 24–10 | At-large |
| 7 | Florida Gulf Coast | ASUN | 23–11 | Automatic |
| 8 | UNC Asheville | Big South | 21–12 | Automatic |
Notre Dame bracket :
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Notre Dame | ACC | 20–14 | At-large |
| 2 | Marquette | Big East | 19–13 | At-large |
| 3 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 22–12 | At-large |
| 4 | Penn State | Big Ten | 21–13 | At-large |
| 5 | Temple | American | 17–15 | At-large |
| 6 | Rider | MAAC | 22–9 | Automatic |
| 7 | Harvard | Ivy | 18–13 | Automatic |
| 8 | Hampton | MEAC | 19–15 | Automatic |

## Schedule

The NIT began on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Due to a conflict at Taco Bell Arena (with the NCAA tournament), Boise State travelled to the University of Washington for their first-round match. The first three rounds were played on campus sites. The semifinals were held on Tuesday, March 27, and the championship game was held on Thursday, March 29, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

## Bracket

| First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | Second round March 17–18 | Second round March 17–18 | Second round March 17–18 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 |
| 1 | Notre Dame | 84 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Hampton | 63 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Hampton | 63 | 1 | Notre Dame | 63 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Penn State | 73 | | | |
| 4 | Penn State | 63 | 4 | Penn State | 73 | | | |
| 5 | Temple | 57 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Temple | 57 | | | | 4 | Penn State | 85 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Marquette | 80 |
| 3 | Oregon | 99 | | | | | | | 2 | Marquette | 80 |
| 6 | Rider | 86 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Rider | 86 | 3 | Oregon | 92 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Marquette | 101 | | | |
| 2 | Marquette | 67 | 2 | Marquette | 101 | | | |
| 7 | Harvard | 60 | | | | | | |
| First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | Second round March 18 | Second round March 18 | Second round March 18 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 |
| 1 | Baylor | 80 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Wagner | 59 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Wagner | 59 | 1 | Baylor | 77 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Mississippi State | 78 | | | |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 66 | 4 | Mississippi State | 78 | | | |
| 5 | Nebraska | 59 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Nebraska | 59 | | | | 4 | Mississippi State | 79 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Louisville | 56 |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee | 91 | | | | | | | 2 | Louisville | 56 |
| 6 | Vermont | 64 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Vermont | 64 | 3 | Middle Tennessee | 68 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Louisville | 84 | | | |
| 2 | Louisville | 66 | 2 | Louisville | 84 | | | |
| 7 | Northern Kentucky | 58 | | | | | | |
| First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | Second round March 19 | Second round March 19 | Second round March 19 | Quarterfinals March 21 | Quarterfinals March 21 | Quarterfinals March 21 |
| 1 | USC | 103** | | | | | | |
| 8 | UNC Asheville | 98 | | | | | | |
| 8 | UNC Asheville | 98 | 1 | USC | 75 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Western Kentucky | 79 | | | |
| 4 | Western Kentucky | 79 | 4 | Western Kentucky | 79 | | | |
| 5 | Boston College | 62 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Boston College | 62 | | | | 4 | Western Kentucky | 92 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Oklahoma State | 84 |
| 3 | Stanford | 86 | | | | | | | 2 | Oklahoma State | 84 |
| 6 | BYU | 83 | | | | | | |
| 6 | BYU | 83 | 3 | Stanford | 65 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Oklahoma State | 71 | | | |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 80 | 2 | Oklahoma State | 71 | | | |
| 7 | Florida Gulf Coast | 68 | | | | | | |
| First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | First round March 13–14 | Second round March 19 | Second round March 19 | Second round March 19 | Quarterfinals March 21 | Quarterfinals March 21 | Quarterfinals March 21 |
| 1 | Saint Mary's | 89 | | | | | | |
| 8 | SE Louisiana | 45 | | | | | | |
| 8 | SE Louisiana | 45 | 1 | Saint Mary's | 85 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Washington | 81 | | | |
| 4 | Boise State^ | 74 | 5 | Washington | 81 | | | |
| 5 | Washington | 77 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington | 77 | | | | 1 | Saint Mary's | 58 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Utah | 67* |
| 3 | LSU | 84 | | | | | | | 2 | Utah | 67* |
| 6 | Louisiana | 76 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Louisiana | 76 | 3 | LSU | 71 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Utah | 95 | | | |
| 2 | Utah | 69 | 2 | Utah | 95 | | | |
| 7 | UC Davis | 59 | | | | | | |
^ Game played at Washington due to Taco Bell Arena hosting first- and second-round 2018 NCAA tournament games.
| Semifinals March 27 | Semifinals March 27 | Semifinals March 27 | Final March 29 | Final March 29 | Final March 29 |
| 4 | Penn State | 75 | | | |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 60 | | | |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 60 | 4 | Penn State | 82 |
| | | | 2 | Utah | 66 |
| 4 | Western Kentucky | 64 | 2 | Utah | 66 |
| 2 | Utah | 69 | | | |
* Denotes overtime period

## Media

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