2018 National Invitation Tournament
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The 2018 National Invitation Tournament was a
single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
of 32
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
college men's basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA tournament. The first three rounds of the annual tournament were played on campus sites (the host team being the higher-seeded team). The semifinals and championship game were held at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Experimental rules

In February 2018, the NCAA approved a number of experimental rule changes for use in this tournament: * Games were played in 10-minute quarters instead of 20-minute halves. The NCAA has used this timing convention for women's basketball since the 2015–16 season. * As in NCAA women's basketball, as well as the 2017 NIT, there were no "one-and-one" foul shots. Starting with the fifth foul in each quarter, non-shooting fouls by the defense resulted in two free throws, with the exception of administrative technical fouls (for which only one shot is awarded). The 2018 NIT, however, returned to the standard NCAA procedure of treating overtime periods as extensions of the final period of regulation for purposes of team foul accumulation. * The three-point line changed to the current
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
distance of from the center of the basket, except along the sidelines. Once the arc reaches a distance of from the sideline, it becomes a straight line parallel to the sideline. * The free-throw lane was wide, the same width as in ( W)
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
and FIBA rules, instead of the in the current NCAA rules. * The shot clock was reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound. ;Notes


Participants


Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were guaranteed berths into the 2018 NIT field by having the best regular-season record in their conference but failing to either win their conference tournament or earn an at-large berth in the 2018 NCAA tournament. Grambling State won the SWAC regular-season title but was banned from the postseason due to low graduation rates and did not participate in the conference tournament. There was thus no automatic qualifier from the SWAC.


At-large bids

The following 20 teams were also awarded NIT berths.


Bids by conference


Seeds


Schedule

The NIT began on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Due to a conflict at Taco Bell Arena (with the NCAA tournament), Boise State travelled to the University of Washington for their first-round match. The first three rounds were played on campus sites. The semifinals were held on Tuesday, March 27, and the championship game was held on Thursday, March 29, at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Bracket

''^'' Game played at Washington due to Taco Bell Arena hosting first- and second-round 2018 NCAA tournament games. * Denotes overtime period


Media

ESPN, Inc. had exclusive television rights to all of the NIT Games. It was telecast every game across
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
,
ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...
,
ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...
, and
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.
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
had exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and the championship.


See also

* 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament


References

{{2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox National Invitation
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
2010s in Manhattan
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
Basketball competitions in New York City College sports in New York City
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
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