NIT bracket 2024: Tournament schedule, dates, times as Wake Forest, Villanova highlight No. 1 seeds

 For the 2024 NIT, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Indiana State, and Villanova earned the top seeds. The 32-team field was revealed on Sunday, and college locations will host competitions starting on Tuesday. The semifinals and championship game of the tournament will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 2 and April 4, respectively.

The NIT will debut a new look in this year. The first twelve NIT automatic bids and the privilege to host first-round games will go to the top two teams from the NET rankings from each of the major six conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC), provided they did not make it to the NCAA Tournament.

Following their elimination from the NCAA Tournament, several high-major institutions, including Oklahoma, Pitt, St. John's, and Indiana, turned down invitations to the NIT. Preseason No. 1 North Carolina last year turned down an offer.

Madison Square Garden has always hosted the semifinals and final of the tournament, but starting in 2023, the NCAA will start "accepting bids from numerous cities" to host it.

2024 NIT key dates 

First Round: March 19-20
Second round: March 23-24
Quarterfinals: March 26-27
Semifinals: April 2 (Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis)
Championship: April 4 (Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis)

All times Eastern 

2024 NIT First Round schedule 

The higher-seeded team's home venue will host games in the first three rounds.

Top Left Bracket

No. 1 Seton Hall vs. Saint Joseph's | Wednesday, 7 p.m. 
No. 2 Princeton vs. UNLV | Wednesday, 8 p.m. 
No. 3 Providence vs. Boston College | Tuesday, 7 p.m. 
No. 4 LSU vs. North Texas | Tuesday, 7 p.m. 

Bottom Left Bracket

No. 1 Wake Forest vs. Appalachian State | Wednesday, 8 p.m. 
No. 2 Ohio State vs. Cornell | Tuesday, 7 p.m. 
No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. Richmond | Tuesday, 9 p.m. 
No. 4 Georgia vs. Xavier | Tuesday, 7 p.m. 

Upper Right Bracket

No. 1 Indiana State vs. SMU | Wednesday, 7 p.m. 
No. 2 Cincinnati vs. San Francisco | Wednesday, 9 p.m. 
No. 3 Bradley vs. Loyola Chicago | Wednesday, 7 p.m. 
No. 4 Butler vs. Minnesota | Tuesday, 9 p.m. 

Lower Right Bracket

No. 1 Villanova vs. VCU | Wednesday, 9 p.m. 
No. 2 Utah vs. UC Irvine | Tuesday, 11 p.m. 
No. 3 Iowa vs. Kansas State | Tuesday, 9 p.m. 
No. 4 UCF vs. USF| Wednesday, 9 p.m. 

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