2025 NIT Bracket: Printable version, schedule and more

March Madness is here and we don't just mean the NCAA Tournament. The NIT bracket is also coming to give us even more basketball excitement in the wildest month of the year.

The National Invitation Tournament has been around since 1938 and it'll crown a new championship this April.

First, the committee must reveal this year's bracket.

Printable NIT bracket

To download or print this year's NIT bracket, go here then right click and select "save as" or "print."

Despite the availability of online brackets, there's something about printing a bracket and filling it in directly that just feels quintessentially March Madness. For the NIT, it's even more essential.

While everyone else will be focused on the Big Dance, true ball knowers understand that the NIT is full of its own merits.

How to score your NIT bracket

If you're setting up or participating in an office pool, scoring is up to you. There are multiple ways to score, so make sure you're certain which system your pool is using.

Here are some popular scoring systems

• 1-2-4-8-16-32: Award a point for each correct pick in the first round, then multiply the award for the previous round by two for each correct pick in each subsequent round up to 32 points for correctly picking the national title winner. This is the most common type of scoring, including what ESPN and other major online brackets use.
• 1-2-3-4-5-6: Award a point for each correct pick in the first round, then add an extra point for correct pick in each round up to six points for correctly picking the national title winner. This scoring system gives less weight to picks further into the tournament.
• 1-1-1-1-1-1: Award a point for each correct pick regardless of round. This scoring system crowns a winner based on who correctly guessed the largest number of games across the whole tournament.
• Upset bonus: Use one of the above scoring systems but double points for correct picks where a lower seed beat the higher seed. Ex. In the second round, correctly picking the No. 10 seed over the No. 2 seed would earn you four points.
• Seed/multiplier scoring: Use one of the above scoring systems but multiply the points in each round by the winning seed number. Ex. In the second round, correctly picking a No. 10 seed would earn you 20 points while correctly picking a No. 1 seed to win would earn you two points.

NIT Tournament schedule and key dates

The NIT begins on Tuesday, March 18 and runs through Thursday, April 3

NIT Tournament structure and selection process

There are 32 teams invited to the NIT with conference champions who did not win their conference tournament getting automatic bids (so long as they rank better than 125th in advanced metrics. Two guaranteed bids are reserved for two teams each from the SEC and ACC. One other guaranteed bid goes to the top rated KenPom team from each of the top 12 conferences.

There are four regions with eight teams each. The higher seeds in each region host the lower seeded team in the first three rounds. Then the semifinals and final are played in Indianapolis.

What teams declined NIT invitations

You won't many of the top teams that missed out on the NCAA Tournament in this year's NIT. South Carolina and LSU officially declined bids from the SEC. Pitt and Wake Forest passed up the opportunity. Penn State said no as well.

So much for the power conferences getting automatic bids...

NIT teams and matchups to watch

SMU is far and away the top team in the tournament. The Mustangs rank 46th in NET, well ahead of the other No. 1 seeds: 62nd UC Irvine, 64th San Francisco and 67th Dayton Those three moved up into those coveted spots because of all the opt outs.

No. 2 seed Santa Clara looks like the biggest threat to those top seeds, ranking 57th in NET to end the season.

How to watch the NIT live

ESPN will broadcast games in the NIT on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+.

One semifinal game on Tuesday, Apr. 1 will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET while the second will air on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m. ET. The championship game will be on ESPN on Thursday, Apr. 3 at 9 p.m. ET.

Historic moments and past NIT champions

Last year's NIT championship game was a doozy with Seton Hall scoring the final nine points to notch a comeback win over Indiana State. The Pirates prevailed 79-77 thanks to a Dre Davis layup with 16 seconds remaining. They trailed 77-70 with three minutes to play and held the Sycamores scoreless the rest of the way.

Two teams this century have turned NIT success into NCAA Tournament success. The 2013 Baylor Bears followed up their NIT triumph with a Sweet 16 run in 2014. The 2007 West Virginia Mountaineers also went on to the Sweet 16 the next season. Unfortunately, they're best known for being the team whose championship t-shirts were misprinted. Instead of "West Virginia" they said "West Virgina."

Last 10 NIT champions

Who has won the most NIT championships?

St. John's has won more NIT championships than any other team with five but they haven't won the tournament since 1989. They won't be in it this year with their ticket to the NCAA Tournament punched.