NIT Betting Preview

The 2026 NIT bracket recently came out. Some might derisively refer to the NIT as Not In Tournament. The National Invitational Tournament selects teams that did not win their conference tournament. They also bring in at-large teams. The NIT is broken down into four regions just like the NCAA tournament. However, there are fewer teams with 32 NIT teams as opposed to 68 from the NCAA. This means that each region has eight teams. The NIT has the #1 seed play the #8 seed. The #4 seed plays the #5 seed. The #2 seed plays the #7 seed. The #3 seed plays the #6 seed. The games are at the higher seed's on-campus arena. The four teams that come out of their respective regions go to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

ESPN has the television rights for the NIT games. They will broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and live streaming via ESPN3/WatchESPN. Online or real-world sportsbooks will have game lines. The 2026 NIT will tip off in late March. The Final Four will be early April, and the NIT National Championship will be played a few days later.