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.
TeamConferenceOverall recordAppearanceLast bidEastern WashingtonBig Sky22–102nd2003UC IrvineBig West23–117th2017HofstraCAA24–97th2019Youngstown StateHorizon24–91stNeverYaleIvy League21–82nd2002ToledoMAC27–710th2022BradleyMVC25–922nd2007Morehead StateOVC 21–11 1st NeverSouthern MissSun Belt 25–7 11th 2014Alcorn StateSWAC18–134th2022Utah ValleyWAC25–82nd2014
At-large bids The following teams were awarded at-large bids.
TeamConferenceOverall recordAppearanceLast bidCincinnatiAmerican21–1211th2010ClemsonACC23–1018th2019ColoradoPac-1217–1613th2022FloridaSEC16–1611th2022LibertyASUN26–81stMichiganBig Ten17–1510th2007New MexicoMountain West22–1120th2011North TexasConference USA26–72nd2022Oklahoma StateBig 1218–1513th2018OregonPac-1219–1413th2022RutgersBig Ten19–1415th2006Sam HoustonWAC25–72nd2019Santa ClaraWest Coast23–97th2022Seton HallBig East17–1518th2012UABConference USA25–913th2016UCFAmerican18–143rd2017VanderbiltSEC20–1414th2022VillanovaBig East17–1618th2004Virginia TechACC19–1414th2016Washington StatePac-1217–167th2022WisconsinBig Ten17–145th1996
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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
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.
See also 2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2023 College Basketball Invitational
References