2019 National Invitation Tournament

The 2019 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA tournament. The tournament started on March 19, and concluded on April 4. The first three rounds were played on campus sites with the higher seeded team acting as host. The semifinals and championship game were held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

2019 National Invitation Tournament

Season	2018–19
Teams	32
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	Texas Longhorns (2nd title)
Runner-up	Lipscomb Bisons (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Wichita State Shockers (2nd semifinal) TCU Horned Frogs (2nd semifinal)
Winning coach	Shaka Smart (1st title)
MVP	Dylan Osetkowski (Texas)
National Invitation Tournaments «2018 2020»

Experimental rules

On February 22, 2019, the NCAA announced a set of experimental rules that were used in this edition of the NIT.^[1]

The following rules were also used in the 2018 NIT:

• The three-point line was moved to the FIBA standard of 6.75 metres (22 ft 2 in). When the arc approaches the sideline, it changed to a line parallel to and 1.02 metres (3 ft 4 in) from the sideline.^[a]
• The free-throw lane was widened from the current college standard of 12 feet to the NBA standard of 16 feet.
• After an offensive rebound, the shot clock was reset to 20 seconds instead of the current NCAA standard of 30.

A set of rules relating to free throws that had been used in the 2017 NIT^[2] were used again in the 2019 edition, with one modification:

• Team foul counts, for purposes of determining bonus free throws, were reset to zero at the 10-minute mark of each half, effectively dividing the game into quarters for that purpose. This mirrored the current practice in NCAA women's basketball, which has been played in quarters since the 2015–16 season.
• The "one-and-one" was eliminated. All bonus free throw situations resulted in two free throws for the non-fouled team.
• Teams entered the bonus upon the fifth team foul in each 10-minute segment.
• The team foul count was reset to zero at the start of any overtime period. Teams entered the bonus upon the fourth team foul in an overtime period.
• In a completely new feature, the NCAA adopted the NBA's bonus rule regarding team fouls in the last 2 minutes of any period. Teams entered the bonus on the second team foul in the last 2 minutes of a 10-minute segment or overtime period, regardless of the total team foul count at that point of the period.

Notes

1. FIBA's definition of the three-point arc calls for the line to be exactly 0.9 metres (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 2019 NIT field by having the best regular season record in their conference but failing to win their conference tournament. Such teams were eligible to receive an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament but did not.

Team	Conference	Overall record	Appearance	Last bid
Campbell	Big South	20–12	1st	Never
Harvard	Ivy League	18–11	3rd	2018
Hofstra	Colonial	27–7	6th	2016
Lipscomb	ASUN	25–7	2nd	2006
Loyola–Chicago	Missouri Valley	20–13	5th	1980
Norfolk State	MEAC	21–13	2nd	2013
Saint Francis (PA)	Northeast	18–14	4th	1958
Sam Houston State	Southland	21–11	1st	Never
South Dakota State	Summit	24–8	2nd	2015
Wright State	Horizon	21–13	1st	Never

At-large bids

The following teams were also awarded NIT berths.

Team	Conference	Overall record	Appearance	Last bid
Alabama	SEC	18–15	16th	2017
Arkansas	SEC	17–15	4th	2014
Butler	Big East	16–16	9th	2006
Clemson	ACC	19–13	17th	2017
Colorado	Pac-12	21–12	11th	2017
Creighton	Big East	18–14	12th	2016
Davidson	Atlantic 10	24–9	8th	2016
Dayton	Atlantic 10	21–11	25th	2012
Furman	Southern	25–7	2nd	1991
Georgetown	Big East	19–13	13th	2014
Indiana	Big Ten	17–15	6th	2017
Memphis	American	21–13	18th	2010
NC State	ACC	22–11	12th	2007
Nebraska	Big Ten	18–16	19th	2018
Providence	Big East	18–15	20th	2013
San Diego	WCC	21–14	1st	Never
TCU	Big 12	20–13	8th	2017
Texas	Big 12	16–16	5th	1986
Toledo	MAC	25–7	9th	2014
UNC Greensboro	Southern	28–6	3rd	2017
Wichita State	American	19–14	13th	2011
Xavier	Big East	18–15	8th	2000

Seeds

UNC Greensboro bracket Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 UNC Greensboro Southern 28–6 At-large 2 NC State ACC 22–11 At-large 3 Georgetown Big East 19–13 At-large 4 Davidson Atlantic 10 24–9 At-large 5 Lipscomb ASUN 25–7 Automatic 6 Harvard Ivy League 18–11 Automatic 7 Hofstra Colonial 27–7 Automatic 8 Campbell Big South 20–12 Automatic Alabama bracket Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Alabama SEC 18–15 At-large 2 Texas Big 12 16–16 At-large 3 Xavier Big East 18–15 At-large 4 Colorado Pac-12 21–12 At-large 5 Dayton Atlantic 10 21–11 At-large 6 Toledo MAC 25–7 At-large 7 South Dakota State Summit 24–8 Automatic 8 Norfolk State MEAC 21–13 Automatic

TCU bracket Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 TCU Big 12 20–13 At-large 2 Creighton Big East 18–14 At-large 3 Memphis American 21–13 At-large 4 Nebraska Big Ten 18–16 At-large 5 Butler Big East 16–16 At-large 6 San Diego WCC 21–14 At-large 7 Loyola–Chicago Missouri Valley 20–13 Automatic 8 Sam Houston State Southland 21–11 Automatic Indiana bracket Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Indiana Big Ten 17–15 At-large 2 Clemson ACC 19–13 At-large 3 Furman Southern 25–7 At-large 4 Providence Big East 18–15 At-large 5 Arkansas SEC 17–15 At-large 6 Wichita State American 19–14 At-large 7 Wright State Horizon 21–13 Automatic 8 Saint Francis (PA) Northeast 18–14 Automatic

Bracket

	First round March 19–20 Campus sites					Second round March 23–24 Campus sites					Quarterfinal March 27 Reynolds Coliseum
	1	UNC Greensboro	84
	8	Campbell	69
						1	UNC Greensboro	69
						5	Lipscomb	86
	4	Davidson	81
	5	Lipscomb	89
											5	Lipscomb	94
											2	NC State	93
	3	Georgetown	68
	6	Harvard	71
						6	Harvard	77
						2	NC State	78
	2	NC State	84
	7	Hofstra	78

	First round March 19–20 Campus sites					Second round March 24–25 Campus sites					Quarterfinal March 27 Frank Erwin Center
	1	Alabama	79
	8	Norfolk State	80*
						8	Norfolk State	60
						4	Colorado	76
	4	Colorado	78
	5	Dayton	73
											4	Colorado	55
											2	Texas	68
	3	Xavier	78
	6	Toledo	64
						3	Xavier	76
						2	Texas	78*
	2	Texas	79
	7	South Dakota State	73

	First round March 19–20 Campus sites					Second round March 22–24 Campus sites					Quarterfinal March 26 Schollmaier Arena
	1	TCU	82
	8	Sam Houston State	69
						1	TCU	88
						4	Nebraska	72
	4	Nebraska	80
	5	Butler	76
											1	TCU	71
											2	Creighton	58
	3	Memphis	74
	6	San Diego	60
						3	Memphis	67
						2	Creighton	79
	2	Creighton	70
	7	Loyola–Chicago	61

	First round March 19–20 Campus sites					Second round March 23–24 Campus sites					Quarterfinal March 26 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
	1	Indiana	89
	8	Saint Francis (PA)	72
						1	Indiana	63
						5	Arkansas	60
	4	Providence	72
	5	Arkansas	84
											1	Indiana	63
											6	Wichita State	73
	3	Furman	70
	6	Wichita State	76
						6	Wichita State	63
						2	Clemson	55
	2	Clemson	75
	7	Wright State	69

	Semifinals April 2 Madison Square Garden					Final April 4 Madison Square Garden
	6	Wichita State	64
	5	Lipscomb	71
						5	Lipscomb	66
						2	Texas	81
	1	TCU	44
	2	Texas	58

* Denotes overtime period

Media

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

See also

• 2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament