The lone No. 1 seed in action on the first night of NIT action was knocked out on Tuesday as Rutgers lost to Hofstra 88-86 in overtime. Tyler Thomas made a jump 10 seconds ahead for The Pride, who claimed their first NIT win since 2006 with the win. Cam Spencer led the Scarlet Knights with 22 points after they were among the “First Four Out” of the 68-team NCAA tournament roster.
Action in the opening round got a little better when another Big Ten team was in action Tuesday as Michigan beat Toledo 90-80 behind 23 points from Kobe Bufkin and 21 from Joey Baker. The duo made 8 of 13 attempts from 3-point range combined as the Wolverines shot 58% from the ground.
Clemson, Oklahoma State, Oregon are the other No. 1 seeds and will be in action Wednesday as round one continues. While an NIT appearance is a kind of consolation prize for programs that had high hopes of an NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday bid, for others it is a momentous occasion.
The 32-team event will culminate with the semi-finals on March 28th in Las Vegas, followed by a championship game on March 30th. Historically, the semifinals and finals of the event have been played at Madison Square Garden, but the NCAA announced in January that Las Vegas will host those games this season, with Indianapolis landing the event in 2024. Here’s a look at those entire bracket.
NIT key dates 2023
First round: 14th-15th March
Second round: 18th-19th March
Quarter finals: 21-22 March
semifinals: March 28 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
championship: March 30 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
All times Easter
Schedule for the first round of the NIT 2023
Matches in the first three rounds will be played at the higher seeded team’s home arena
Upper left bracket
#1 Oklahoma State vs. Youngstown State | Wednesday, 7 p.m
#2 Sam Houston vs. Santa Clara | Wednesday, 9 p.m
No. 3 North Texas vs. Alcorn State | Wednesday, 8 p.m
East Washington 81, No. 4 Washington State 74
Lower left bracket
No. 1 Oregon vs. UC Irvine | Wednesday, 11 a.m
No. 2 Freedom 62, Villanova 57
#3 Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62
No. 4 Florida vs. UCF | Wednesday, 7 p.m
Upper right bracket
Hofstra 88, #1 Rutgers 86
#2 Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64
No. 3 New Mexico vs. Utah Valley | Wednesday, 10 p.m
No. 4 Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech | Wednesday, 9 p.m
Lower right bracket
No. 1 Clemson vs. Morehead State | Wednesday, 7 p.m
#2 Vanderbilt 71, Yale 62
#3 Michigan 90, Toledo 80
No. 4 UAB 88, Southern Miss 60