SMU, Dayton, UC Irvine and San Francisco secured No. 1 seeds for the 2025 NIT. The 32-team field was announced Sunday with action beginning Tuesday at campus sites. The tournament will culminate in Indianapolis, Indiana with semifinals on April 1 and the championship game on April 3.

Dayton is making its 28th appearance in the tournament, the most of any team in the 2025 field and the second most all time

Two National Championship Game participants from the last three years will help kick off the 2025 NCAA tournament. The North Carolina Tar Heels and San Diego State Aztecs are among the eight teams headed to Dayton for the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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The NIT action will air across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+. The games will also be available to stream on ESPN.com and the ESPN app. The first round of the NIT takes place from Tuesday, March 18 to Wednesday, March 19:

National Invitation Tournament (NIT) bracket was revealed on Sunday night (March 16). Here is the full 32-eam field and first round matchups for the 2025 NIT. See the full schedule of first round matchups for the 2025 National Invitation Tournament,