2025 NIT Bracket, Teams, Schedule & Tournament Info
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Last Updated: Wed Mar 19, 2025, 17:02 PM
Read Time: 9 minutes
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Over the next few weeks, many sports bettors will place bets on March Madness odds, hoping to turn a profit on the climax of the college basketball season. But the NCAA Tournament is just one of the postseason tournaments taking place during this time, and the NIT, College Basketball Crown, CBI, and CIT all offer the opportunity for additional profits for college basketball bettors.
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NIT Offers Excitement Despite Weakened Field
In many years, the NIT has featured a strong field, and teams have taken advantage of the opportunity to play more meaningful basketball after missing out on the March Madness bracket.
That was the case last year, as Indiana State and Seton Hall shook off painful NCAA Tournament snubs to reach the championship game, which was won by the Pirates in a thriller at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
This year, thanks to opt-outs and the introduction of the College Basketball Crown—a new 16-team tournament that will be played in Las Vegas from March 31 to April 6 and features Cincinnati, Villanova, and nine other teams from the Big 12, Big East, and Big Ten—the field for the 2025 NIT is much weaker than usual.
No teams who were among the NCAA Tournament “First Four Out” are participating in the NIT. In fact, Boise State, who will play in the College Basketball Crown, is the only one of the snubbed quartet to choose to play in the postseason, as West Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio State all elected to be done for the season.
Also, only Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, SMU, and Stanford are the only teams from ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, or SEC to elect to take part. To compare, 18 teams from those five conferences and the pre-decimation Pac-12 participated in the 2024 NIT.
But there are numerous mid-major squads in the NIT bracket, including Arkansas State, Bradley, Furman, George Mason, Jacksonville State, North Alabama, Northern Colorado, UAB, UC Irvine, and Utah Valley, all of whom finished one win away from reaching the Big Dance.
Odds to Win the 2025 NIT
- SMU +350
- Santa Clara +600
- San Francisco +650
- UC Irvine +800
- George Mason +1000
- Stanford +1100
- Dayton +1100
- North Texas +1300
- Saint Joseph’s +2300
- Bradley +2900
- St. Bonaventure +3700
- Arkansas State +3700
- Oklahoma State +4500
- Loyola Chicago +4600
- Georgia Tech +4700
- North Alabama +5000
- Florida Atlantic +7500
- Middle Tennessee +8500
- UAB +9500
- Chattanooga +10000
- Cal State Northridge +11000
- Saint Louis +11000
- Northern Iowa +12000
- Samford +14000
- Utah Valley +14000
- Northern Colorado +15000
- Jacksonville State +15000
- Kent State +18000
- Wichita State +20000
- UC Riverside +25000
- Furman +25000
- San Jose State +25000
Who Are the Favorites to Win the 2025 NIT?
SMU
With seven games left in the regular season, the Mustangs (23-10) were 19-5 overall and 10-3 in the ACC, and they were in a decent position for the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2017.
But a 4-5 finish and a lack of notable wins relegated the Mustangs to the NIT.
Motivation is always a question mark with teams in SMU’s position, but three of their top five scorers (Chuck Harris, Matt Cross, and Kario Oquendo) are seniors, and this gives them an opportunity to go out with a bang. Also, juniors Boopie Miller, B.J. Edwards, and Yohan Traore and 7’2’’ freshman Samet Yigitoglu could form a nice core next year, and an NIT run will provide a nice springboard into next season.
There are a few things that stand out about SMU and their NIT hopes. They are 18-1 when scoring 75+ points this season—with the lone loss coming at home to Mississippi State—and they are 19-2 when giving up 75 or fewer points.
And while they don’t shoot a lot of threes—only 15 teams (of 79) in the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC have shot fewer threes per game—but they make them at a very good clip, shooting 37.7% from outside entering the NIT. Overall, the only team ahead of them in shooting percentage (48.1%) is Duke.
If they make their shots, they should win, as they are 18-2 when shooting 45% or better this season. And given that there are only four NIT teams that rank higher than SMU in adjusted defensive efficiency (UC Irvine, George Mason, North Texas, and San Francisco) and only one that ranks higher in adjusted offensive efficiency (UAB), you have to like their chances for a run.
Santa Clara
The Broncos are one of the biggest “What if?” teams of the college basketball season. They lost two games in overtime (at home to North Dakota State and at San Francisco) and three others by one possession (at home to Stanford, at Loyola Marymount, and to Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals) and started 3-5.
When they finished with a NET of 57 and own one of the season’s more impressive results (a 103-99 win at Gonzaga on January 18), the above paragraph makes for a sobering read. A few more well-timed wins would have had them rather close to the March Madness bubble, if not on the right side of it and in the tournament for the first time since 1996.
But things are trending up for Santa Clara, whose only two postseason appearances from 1997 to 2021 were in the CIT (won it in 2011) and CBI (won it in 2013). This is their third NIT appearance in four seasons, and after losing in the first round in 2022 (to Washington State) and 2023 (to Sam Houston State), this might be their year.
They opened with a 101-62 win over UC Riverside (a team they had beaten by 42 earlier this season), and this was without leading scorer Adama Bal.
Even if Bal is not available going forward, the Broncos have the depth to make a run at the title. Four other players average in double figures, and most of their key contributors shoot well from outside.
Not being a #1 seed means that they may have to hit the road for a quarterfinal matchup with UC Irvine, but the Broncos are certainly one of the teams to beat, especially if Bal is available.
San Francisco
Like WCC counterpart Santa Clara, San Francisco (24-9) can play the “What If?” game. They were responsible for Saint Mary’s only regular season conference loss, and they had several Q1 opportunities otherwise.
But outside of the win over the Gaels, they didn’t take advantage of any of those opportunities, and though a first-round win over Utah Valley will give them 25 wins for the first time since 1981-82, they finished on the outside looking in.
But of the teams in their quarter of the bracket, there isn’t a single one that they shouldn’t beat, and if they don’t at least make it to Indianapolis, it will be a major disappointment.
This is even with Marcus Williams, the team’s second leading scorer, sidelined over an undisclosed eligibility issue. Williams (15.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 41.4% 3PT) is a big loss, but Ryan Beasley filled in admirably in the WCC tournament in his absence, scoring 42 points and recording eight assists in two games and shooting 53.6% from the field and 42.9% from three in the games against Washington State and Gonzaga.
UC Irvine
Despite a fantastic season, the Anteaters’ only path to an NCAA Tournament bid was by winning the Big West tournament. Unfortunately, they fell short of that goal, losing to UC San Diego in the championship game.
But a run to the NIT title would be a nice consolation prize, especially when they are a #1 seed and will have three home games. That is a major positive when they suffered first-round road losses in the NIT each of the last two seasons.
Defense is UC Irvine’s calling card, and they will need it to continue to be when teams like Santa Clara and SMU could await in the quarterfinals and semis.
2025 NIT Schedule, Bracket & Scores
2025 NIT Schedule & Broadcast Information
- First Round (Campus Sites): March 18 & 19
- Second Round (Campus Sites): March 22 & 23
- Quarterfinals (Campus Sites): March 25 & 26
- Semifinals (Indianapolis, Indiana – Hinkle Fieldhouse): Tuesday, April 1
- Championship Game (Indianapolis, Indiana – Hinkle Fieldhouse): Thursday, April 3
Games will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, and ESPN+.
2025 NIT Bracket
In this year’s NIT bracket, the winner of the Dallas Region will face the winner of the Irvine Region in one semifinal, and the winner of the Dayton Region will face the winner of the San Francisco Region in the other semifinal.
Dallas Region and Irvine Region
| Seed | Dallas Region | Irvine Region | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMU | UC Irvine | 1 |
| Northern Iowa | Northern Colorado | ||
| 4 | Oklahoma State | Georgia Tech | 4 |
| Wichita State | Jacksonville State | ||
| 2 | North Texas | Santa Clara | 2 |
| Furman | UC Riverside | ||
| 3 | Arkansas State | Saint Joseph’s | 3 |
| Saint Louis | UAB |
Dayton Region and San Francisco Region
| Seed | Dayton Region | San Francisco Region | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dayton | San Francisco | 1 |
| Florida Atlantic | Utah Valley | ||
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | San Jose State | 4 |
| Chattanooga | Loyola Chicago | ||
| 2 | George Mason | Stanford | 2 |
| Samford | Cal State Northridge | ||
| 3 | Bradley | St. Bonaventure | 3 |
| North Alabama | Kent State |
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